A report from the 4th biennial conference of the international society of bipolar disorder (March 17-20, 2010 - Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Bipolar disorder has a significant prevalence in the overall population, and carries considerable functional impairment for sufferers as well as a very negative impact on their relatives and caregivers. These facts were widely accepted by attendees to this year's biannual conference of the International Society for Bipolar Disorder, as was the concept that, although less apparent due to the lack of overt mania, type II bipolar disorder is not a mild form of the disease, but an even worse condition with severe depressive episodes that carry a high risk for suicide. And suicide is, in fact, among the most fearful threats of bipolar disorder. Sao Paulo, and this year's ISBD meeting, offered an opportunity for discussing treatments for patients suffering from manic, depressive and mixed states associated with bipolar disorder, and this report will review and summarize findings directly related to pharmacotherapy for the disease.