Study Background

Bipolar disorder affects more than 1 person in 100, negatively impacts people’s lives and also places a tremendous strain on caregivers, the NHS and society. It is associated with earlier than expected death, including by suicide. Depression is common in bipolar disorder.

  • Might I have bipolar?

    If there has ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and thoughts raced through your head or you couldn’t slow your mind down then you may have bipolar disorder. More information is available here, on the BipolarUK website.

  • Might I be currently depressed?

    If you have been depressed or down, or have lost interest in things for most days for most of the day for a fortnight or more then you may be depressed. A short self-assessment survey is available on the Northern Centre for Mood Disorders website.

A previous small trial indicated a combination of the antipsychotic aripiprazole with an antidepressant may be effective in bipolar depression, with a reduced burden of side-effects compared to current treatments. It is time now for a larger trial to see if this combination works.

In the ASCEnD trial, 270 adults with bipolar depression from primary and secondary care services will be randomised to receive an aripiprazole/sertraline combination, or quetiapine.

We will follow participants up for 24 weeks using questionnaires to examine any longer-term benefit on depressive symptoms, quality of life and costs. 10 NHS trusts will take part in the study.

The trial has been developed in collaboration with a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) organised by the McPin Foundation. Click the button below to find out more about patient involvement.