Posted by pfinstegg on October 5, 2002, at 10:44:42
In reply to Re: More Indications for Mifepristone, posted by EarlyWakening on October 4, 2002, at 19:58:18
Hi...this was so interesting. The NIMH study for mefipristone in bipolar is following rapidly on the Stanford study using it for unipolar. It does take at least a month staying there, and everyone will get only a week's worth of mefipristone, just like they did at Stanford. It could be that that's all that is needed. Later on, if it's really effective, they will surely figure out ongoing treatment strategies.
Anyone going there will get such a terrific neurological and endocrine workup- much better than you could get anywhere else. It would help the people who participate understand all the subtle but sometimes catastrophic physical and cognitive changes which we know are there, but which just aren't understood well yet. If the bipolar depression is presently severe, you have the time available, and qualify, I think the knowledge you will gain, and the chance to get treated in a fundamentally new way based on your neurophysiology would make it really worth considering. Since mefipristone is an already approved drug, safe, and with an American manufacturer (Danco), if it worked well, you could possibly be able to begin taking it on a longer-term, probably intermittent basis with your pdoc getting guidance from NIMH as to how it should be used. Even at NIMH, there is no way they can know much about that yet, either, but they will certainly know more than anyone else!
In any event, this study is really going to be worth watching closely.
Pfinstegg
poster:pfinstegg
thread:122132
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020930/msgs/122430.html