Screening Protocol for Children and Adolescents With Bipolar and Bipolar Spectrum Disorder

To address the urgent therapeutic needs of children and adolescents ages 4-17 with pediatric bipolar disorder, we have designed a series of clinical trials aimed at evaluating critical components of the treatment needs of this under-served and under-researched population. This approach will allow us to provide a full complement of clinical trials that will meet the most pressing needs of the bipolar children and adolescents and their families who are currently awaiting treatment. Although these protocols have received prior IRB approval, potential participants present with a widely varied set of complaints not always discernable in a telephone screening interview. This state of affairs makes it very difficult to ask subjects to sign a specific clinical protocol without obtaining additional clinical information. Because of this we are proposing potential subjects to consent to undergo an in-depth clinical assessment that will allow subjects to be screened by a clinician for eligibility to a diverse clinical trials program available to them.