Moving forward in bipolar disorder research

Abstract

Research into bipolar disorder is underfunded, both by public organizations and private industry, mainly, among other reasons, because in almost all cases it constitutes a secondary drug indication, after schizophrenia, depression, or epilepsy. Nevertheless, the good news is that there is still progress being made as shown in this issue of the Spanish Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health. Entering the era of Precision Psychiatry, the combination of clinical data with neuroimaging can help estimate the risk of manic relapse. Besides the progress in understanding the importance of genetics, we also learnt that environmental factors, distress and lifestyle play also their role in the pathophysiology of the disease.