News

The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) has selected an article by Ariel Gildengers, MD as one of the best papers published in the journal Bipolar Disorders in 2015. Dr. Gildengers is an active member of the Department of Psychiatry's Geriatric Psychiatry Research program and has published extensively on late-life mood disorders.

Dr. Gildengers' paper was one of only three articles selected by a panel of referees to receive a 2016 ISBD Best Paper Award.  Articles are selected on their impact on the field, their novelty and innovation, and their clinical implications. The award was announced at a special awards ceremony at the 18th Annual Conference of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in July 2016.  

In the article, titled Longer Lithium Exposure is Associated with Better White Matter Integrity in Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder, Dr. Gildengers explored whether lithium treatment is related to better brain integrity and cognitive function in older adults with bipolar disorder. He examined cognitive and neuroimaging data for 58 adults with the illness.  Findings from this study indicated that while lithium treatment appears to be related to better brain integrity in older individuals with bipolar disorder, but did not result in better cognitive performance. Click here to view the abstract.

"I am grateful to the ISBD for their recognition of my work and grateful to the many patients who participated in this study", said Dr. Gildengers. "My research and the research of many others strongly suggests that long-term treatment with lithium may be neuroprotective. Going forward, we need to better understand whether lithium can alter the trajectory from normal cognitive function to dementia."