Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Our Services >
  • Behavioral Health >
  • ... >
  • Our Programs >
  • Serious Mental Illness Programs >
  • mood disorders transcript
Behavioral Health
About Us
Our Experts
Our Locations
Our Programs
Addiction Medicine
Adult
Autism
Child and Adolescent
Eating Disorder Programs
Emergency and Crisis Services
Geriatrics
Serious Mental Illness Programs
Chronic & Severe Mood Disorders
Early Psychosis
Schizophrenia
Behavioral Health
About Us
Our Experts
Our Locations
Our Programs
Addiction Medicine
Adult
Autism
Child and Adolescent
Eating Disorder Programs
Emergency and Crisis Services
Geriatrics
Serious Mental Illness Programs
Chronic & Severe Mood Disorders
Early Psychosis
Schizophrenia

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE

UPMC On Topic Transcript

UPMC Content 2

Mood Disorders: Treatment and Research

Edward S. Friedman, MD
Director, Mood Disorders Treatment Research Program
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC

The difference between depression or major depression and bipolar disorder is that people with bipolar disorder, in addition to having depressive episodes, have manic episodes. So this was formerly called manic-depressive disorder. 

During a manic episode, people have a period in which their mood is either very elated and grandiose or irritable - they don’t need to sleep, they have too much energy, their speech is pressured, people have to tell them sometimes to slow down, and their thoughts are racing or going too fast so that they’re very distractible and actually getting very little done, or just focused on minutia rather seeing the bigger picture and functioning well.

Research Goals

One of the major goals of our doing research and doing studies is to find information that are going to help doctors and ultimately help patients determine what are the best treatments — what we now call personalized treatments. How can we personalize the medications we have, and how can new medications help patients to get better and to stay better over the long term.

Study Participation

We’re very pleased to be participating in one of the largest comparative effectiveness studies that has ever been done. 

We’re looking at whether an older versus a newer medication has more risks or benefit for patients living in the real world who suffer with bipolar disorder.

We try to make it very easy for folks to get into our studies. All they have to do is call our office, the Mood Disorder Treatment Research Program, and one of the staff will get back to them with a short questionnaire that will help us define what their problem is.

At that point, if we have a study that’s available, we’ll make an appointment for them to come in and have an in-depth research evaluation. 

  • If they still are interested in the study, we’d be glad to enroll them at that time.
  • If they’re not, or if they’re not eligible for a study, we’re very happy to refer them to another program within Western Psych that does treat people with that diagnosis.

Study Benefits

One of the benefits of our doing research in bipolar disorder over the last decade is that we at Western Psych have developed one of the leading clinics for the treatment of bipolar disorder in the country.

Furthermore, the studies we are currently conducting are going to help us learn about the comparative effectiveness of drugs for patients with bipolar disorder who live in the real world.

Through this we hope to help them to feel better and function better in their day-to-day lives.

For more information, contact us at 412-246-6111.

UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login