The Safety and Effectiveness of Probiotic Supplementation on Bipolar Depression

Depression has emerged as the major challenge for short- and long-term management of bipolar disorder; new treatments are needed to help control this illness. Studies indicate that probiotics in the stomach improves mood and reduces anxiety symptoms lending further support to the notion that probiotic bacteria positively influence emotional states. We propose to evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of mood stabilizer and Align, a probiotic as compared to mood stabilizer monotherapy. The primary goal of this feasibility study is to determine the safety and tolerability of Align as an add on to accepted monotherapy treatment in BD. Secondary Objective:1)To evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of mood stabilizer + Align compared to mood stabilizer monotherapy in treatment of BD. 2) to determine if Align +mood stabilizer combination will reduce anxiety symptoms. An 8-week randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled proof of concept study assessing the combination a mood stabilizer + Align in the treatment of patients with an bipolar depressive episode. The study has two treatment arms: mood stabilizer + placebo and mood stabilizer + Align. Participants will be assessed \& administered study scales at screening, baseline \& weeks 2,4,6 and 8. the dose for mood stabilizer will be in accordance with clinical practice guidelines and Align - 1 capsule/day.