How Does Keto Affect A Bipolar Brain? A New $6M Randomized Controlled Trial

Baszucki Group awarded $6 million to a research team led by University of Pittsburgh Psychiatry professor and researcher, Dr. Mary Phillips that will explore mechanisms of ketogenic therapy for bipolar disorder. This is the second grant in Baszucki Group’s newly-announced research program: ReThink Bipolar: Researching Therapeutic Integration of Nutritional Ketosis in Bipolar Disorder.

The grant will fund an ambitious, multidisciplinary study at the University of Pittsburgh unites neuroscience, mitochondrial biology, and cellular models to explore the underlying mechanisms of the therapeutic effect of the keto diet for bipolar disorder. The study will investigate the relationship between gene expression, mitochondrial function, and brain markers associated with a ketogenic diet’s impact on symptoms of mania and hypomania

This complex study has a clinical intervention and will examine biomarkers, looking at neuroimaging and analyzing mitochondrial function in stem cells, as well as having a murine trial component. Dr. Bret Scher interviews three key players in the study:

Mary Phillips, MD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, and Bioengineering, and Pittsburgh Foundation-Emmerling Endowed Chair in Psychotic Disorders in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh
https://www.psychiatry.pitt.edu/about...
X: @MaryPhillips23

Colleen McClung, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh
https://www.psychiatry.pitt.edu/about...
X: @McClungColleen

Ana Andreazza, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
https://psychiatry.utoronto.ca/facult...
X: @anacandreazza

The research team also includes:
Zachary Freyberg, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh
https://psychiatry.pitt.edu/about-us/...
X: @zfreyberg

Link to the press release: https://prn.to/3PwSufs

Learn more about Baszucki Group research funding in the field of metabolic psychiatry: https://baszuckigroup.com/our-work/me...

Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry.

Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/

About us:
Metabolic Mind is a non-profit initiative of Baszucki Group working to transform the study and treatment of mental disorders by exploring the connection between metabolism and brain health. We leverage the science of metabolic psychiatry and personal stories to offer education, community, and hope to people struggling with mental health challenges and those who care for them.

Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications.

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:43 An overview of the Pittsburgh keto for bipolar study
5:28 What happens to the body when there is too much dopamine?
8:39 The study's hypothesis
10:15 The study's protocol
13:32 Is the study in-person only?
15:07 GABA and dopamine in a bipolar brain
16:41 The balance between research and clinical practice
19:24 The mouse component of the study - Dr. Colleen McClung
25:16 The mitochondria component of the study

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