Developing novel treatments for mood disorders: accelerating discovery

• Published in: Biological Psychiatry 2002-09, Vol.52 (6), p.589-609
• Main Authors: Tamminga, Carol A, Nemeroff, Charles B, Blakely, Randy D, Brady, Linda, Carter, Cameron S, Davis, Kenneth L, Dingledine, Raymond, Gorman, Jack M, Grigoriadis, Dimitri E, Henderson, David C, B. Innis, Robert, Killen, John, Laughren, Thomas P, McDonald, William M, M. Murphy, Greer, Paul, Steven M, Rudorfer, Matthew V, Sausville, Edward, Schatzberg, Alan F, Scolnick, Edward M, Suppes, Trisha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Animals; Antidepressive Agents - pharmacology; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Behavioral Research; Biological and medical sciences; bipolar disorder; Brain - metabolism; Clinical Trials as Topic; Depression; Diagnostic Imaging - methods; Financing, Government; Genetics, Behavioral - trends; government/industry collaboration; Humans; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Mood disorders; Mood Disorders - diagnosis; Mood Disorders - drug therapy; Mood Disorders - therapy; National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.); Pharmacogenetics - trends; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Research - economics; Research - education; Research - trends; research resources; United States
• ISSN: 0006-3223; 1873-2402
• DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01470-1

This review was generated from discussions by the Pharmacologic and Somatic Treatments Section of the National Institute of Mental Health Strategic Plan for Mood Disorders Committee on advancing novel pharmacologic and somatic treatments for mood disorders. The opening section of the article summarizes in broad strokes, current pharmacologic treatments, and new directions in the field. Thereafter the topics focus on specific research initiatives that could advance the current therapeutics for mood disorders including new basic and clinical research in vivo human imaging procedures, somatic therapeutics, and the vast new area of pharmacogenetics. New scientific and technical opportunities exist today based on advances in basic neuroscience, opportunities in clinical testing, industry interest in advancing central nervous system therapeutics, and on active consumer advocacy groups. The question of how to bring all of these positive forces together to accelerate discovery in mood disorder thera-peutics is the topic of this article.