New insights into the biochemical effects of lithium, currently considered to be the best treatment available for bipolar disorder, should provide the foundation for a new generation of treatment options for patients with this condition, reported researchers at the First International Conference on Bipolar Disorder[Pittsburgh, US; June 1994].This line of research is just one of many presently being embraced by the US National Institute of Mental Health, as it embarks on a major effort to find more effective treatments. The potential of agents used for other conditions is also under investigation.