Thursday, June 12, 2003

Seroquel: effective and well tolerated treatment for bipolar disorder
Shire Health International item - "Important new data presented today at the fifth International Conference on Bipolar Disorder (ICBD) confirms that Seroquel (quetiapine) monotherapy is as effective as current treatments for bipolar disorder and offers improved tolerability benefits.Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that affects approximately 3-4% of the adult population and is the sixth leading cause of disability in the world. More than half of those with bipolar disorder stop taking their medication at some point during their illness, subjecting themselves to a high risk of relapse and an increased risk of suicide. This lack of compliance is strongly associated with the occurrence of side effects, therefore, a well tolerated and effective treatment is pivotal to the successful treatment of this condition."