"Data from a clinical trial has shown that how people respond to treatment for Bipolar Disorder may be influenced by their weight and the overall quality of their diet including whether they are eating a diet high in foods thought to contribute to general inflammation. These are early results but if replicated may mean that treatment of some mental health problems could benefit from the inclusion of dietary advice. This is presented at the ECNP Conference in Barcelona. Bipolar Disorder which used to be called manic depression is characterised by episodes of mood swings between being very up or very down with periods in between the two extremes. The fact that there are two opposite sets of symptoms means that finding an effective treatment is difficult. While current medications are useful they are better at targeting mania symptoms the up phase leaving a lack of effective treatment for people experiencing depressive episodes. Now a group of Australian German and American scientists have shown those who have a high quality diet a less inflammatory diet andor a low BMI Body Mass Index may respond better to an addon nutraceutical treatment provided as part of a clinical trial. If we can confirm these results then its good news for people with Bipolar Disorder as there is a great need for better treatments for the depressive phase of Bipolar Disorder said lead researcher Melanie Ashton of Deakin University in Australia. A total of  participants were randomly assigned to take a combination of nutraceuticals compounds derived from foods such as vitamins or minerals that treat or prevent a disease or disorder including the antiinflammatory amino acid nacetylcysteine NAC or NAC alone or a placebo a dummy pill for  weeks. Participants received the study medication in addition to any stable treatments they were already receiving. Researchers measured BMI at the beginning of the study and then measured depression and how a person is able to function in their day to day life. Researchers also rated whether a participant was improving and if so how much over the next  weeks. Participants filled in a questionnaire about what they usually eat over the year and researchers calculated a diet quality score where good diets included a healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables whereas poorerquality diets had more saturated fat refined carbohydrates and alcohol. These types of diets were then categorised as either antiinflammatory or proinflammatory based on foods that affect inflammation. Melanie Ashton continued We found that people who had a betterquality diet a diet with antiinflammatory properties or a lower BMI showed better response to addon nutraceutical treatment than did those who reported a lowquality diet or a diet including foods that promote inflammation or who were overweight.  What this means if these results can be repeated in a larger trial is that treatment for Bipolar Disorder would need to take into account what a person eats and their weight.  There are some points we need to note about this study. This is a randomised controlled trial but what we found were exploratory outcomes in other words it wasnt the main result that we were testing. Our result is statistically significant but because the study wasnt specifically designed to test the effect of diet quality  inflammatory diets and BMI on drug response in general it is necessary to see the work replicated in a larger study before any firm conclusions can be formed. Commenting Professor Eduard Vieta Barcelona said This is interesting work which holds out the possibility that patients with Bipolar Disorder may benefit from a balanced diet. However it is an early study and we need more research before we can think whether this might affect clinical practice. Professor Vieta was not involved in this work it is an independent comment."