Practice Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder by the JSMD (Japanese Society of Mood Disorders)

The Japanese Society of Mood Disorders (JSMD) published treatment guidelines of bipolar disorder in 2011. The present guidelines incorporating new findings were developed to comply to the guidelines of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) by utilizing systematic reviews and meta-analysis and taking patient and family opinions as well as insights from multiple professional fields into account. They support combination therapy using mood stabilizers and second-generation antipsychotics in many aspects. They also have limitations, including the grouping of mood stabilizers and second-generation antipsychotics when meta-analysis was performed despite their distinct properties, due to the scarcity of drug-specific evidence. Despite the limitations, these guidelines provide clinical decision support for psychiatrists in Japan.