IPA Task Forces

Mood Disorders in Late Life

One of the main activities of IPA's Mood Disorders in Late Life Task Force is an on-line discussion group which is accessible from the IPA website. The group is focused on topics and questions related to late life mood disorders. 

The primary objectives for the discussion group are to: 

• share and expand the knowledge base;
• identify an international research agenda to address the needs and topics of highest interest;
• raise awareness world-wide about late life mood disorders as a public health issue

Their first round of discussions closed recently and Thea Heeren, Co-Chair, wrote this summary of the discussions: 

”One surprising finding was the level of interest shown in bipolar disorder (BPD). It seems that clinicians find late-life BPD challenging, both diagnostically and in terms of treatment but are hampered by a lack of evidence about what is best practice. We thought that the next round of web-based discussion should therefore be on BPD.”

Some of the relevant issues are outlined for discussion on the site. The objective of the world-wide discussion is to gain enough substantive contributions to be able to organize a Consensus Conference on the subject. If you would like to view or participate in the discussion please let us know by filling out the Contact Us form on this website.

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