- 8th International Forum for Mood and Anxiety Disorders Congress Roundup
Clinicians and researchers from around the world attended this week's 8thInternational Forum on Mood and Anxiety disorders in Vienna, Austria todiscuss the latest advances in the treatment of mood disorders.
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A wide range of topics were included in this year's programme,highlighting the position of IFMAD in the congress calendar as a forum forbreaking news, original thinking and debate.
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Highlights from the meeting included the latest new treatments fordepression and anxiety disorders. There was the first comprehensivepresentation of data demonstrating that quetiapine has clear cut efficacy inmajor depressive disorder (MDD), including a study in the elderly, adifficult to treat and under-researched patient population. It is also thefirst time that an antidepressant has shown consistent early efficacy at oneweek in both MDD and bipolar depression. Delegates were excited at theannouncement at IFMAD of the first EU licence within the EU for a treatmentfor bipolar depression.
This year's IFMAD reflected the rapid pace in which new discoveries arebeing made to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of mood disorders,the underlying neurobiology and the role of antidepressant treatment. Dataevaluating a wide range of potential treatment directions were presented,including studies on the antidepressant agomelatine which targets melatoninand serotonin receptors in the brain. Other new data were presented showingthat as much as 30 percent of unipolar depression has genetic or symptomaticpredictors for the development of bipolar disorder and the delegates agreedthat this was an important area for further research and the targeting of newtreatments.
"We are living in exciting times for the treatment of mood disorders withnew approaches and new targets being discovered and explored all of thetime," said Professor Siegfried Kasper, IFMAD Chairman and Professor ofPsychiatry, Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at theMedical University of Vienna, Austria. "The breadth of data presented at thisyear's IFMAD has really demonstrated this, providing delegates with acomprehensive update of cutting edge advances in the field."
Other elements of the meeting included an important debate on therelationships between pain, anxiety and depression and the continuing problemof under-diagnosis of GAD despite its prevalence and significant burden tosociety. The vital need to ensure patient concordance in the treatment ofdepression and anxiety was discussed, including the roles of patienteducation, monitoring and the selection of treatments with minimal sideeffects.
"The format of IFMAD allows informal debate and brings together leadersin the field of mood and anxiety disorders to discuss the most pressingtopics and issues of the moment," said Professor Stuart Montgomery, IFMADCo-Chairman and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Imperial College ofMedicine, University of London, UK. "What sets IFMAD apart is that themeeting is friendly and small enough to allow that informal exchange of newand emerging data from around the world."
This year's meeting also marked the launch of the new IFMAD website,providing an online forum to ensure that clinicians and researchers canaccess the latest developments in mood disorders throughout the year. A fullroundup of the 8th IFMAD meeting, including the final abstract book, will beavailable shortly on the new website, http://www.ifmad.org.
Notes to Editors
About IFMAD
IFMAD is a professional organisation dedicated to raising awareness ofthe latest international thinking and innovations in mood and anxietydisorders and promoting the exchange of ideas across the global psychiatriccommunity.
IFMAD was founded in 2001 by Professor Siegfried Kasper and ProfessorStuart Montgomery, supported by a scientific committee consisting of leadingfigures in mood and anxiety disorders from around the world.
IFMAD organises a yearly congress to promote debate and highlight thelatest research in mood and anxiety disorders. Now in its ninth year, theannual event has become an important forum for the exchange of ideas and akey part of the congress calendar.
Sponsors of this year's IFMAD meeting included H.Lundbeck A/S, who alsosupported the development of the new IFMAD website through an unrestrictededucational grant, Astra Zeneca, Pierre Fabre Medicament, Servier andWisepress Ltd.
SOURCE IFMAD
