Project Summary

Vicki L. Ellingrod, Ph.D. (Independent Investigator 2007) of the University of Michigan Medical Center, will explore metabolic complications arising from the use of atypical antipsychotic medications to treat bipolar disorder. Those complications, affecting 30 to 50 percent of atypical antipsychotic-treated patients, include hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance and diabetes, and obesity, which increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. Folate, or folic acid, is one of the B vitamins important is many body functions. The objective of Dr. Ellingrod’s research is to better understand the interplay of genetically controlled folate metabolism on metabolic complications aggrevated by atypical antipsychotic use. The study should provide useful data pertaining to patients’ metabolic status and pharmacogenomic risk factors, as well as the potential role of folic acid supplementation in reducing these complications.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Bipolar

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