Bipolar Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bipolar, including details on bipolar disorder, symptoms, treatment, depression, medication.

Recurrence in bipolar I disorder: a post hoc analysis excluding relapses in two double-blind maintenance studies.

Calabrese JR, Goldberg JF, Ketter TA, Suppes T, Frye M, White R, DeVeaugh-Geiss A, Thompson TR

Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. joseph.calabrese@uhhs.com

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of lamotrigine or lithium in preventing mood recurrence (i.e., a new mood episode) in bipolar disorder. METHODS: Data from bipolar I patients with relapses (i.e., mood episodes having the same polarity as the index episode within 90 or 180 days of randomization) were excluded from post hoc efficacy analyses of two 18-month, placebo-controlled maintenance trials of lamotrigine and lithium. RESULTS: Both lamotrigine and lithium were more effective than placebo in delaying the time to intervention for any mood episode (depression, mania, hypomania, or mixed) when relapses that occurred in the first 90 days were excluded from the analyses (p = .002, lamotrigine vs. placebo; p = .010, lithium vs. placebo). Results were similar when patients with mood episodes within 180 days of randomization were excluded. CONCLUSIONS: Both lamotrigine and lithium maintenance therapy protected against mood episode recurrence in bipolar I disorder.

Published 13 June 2006 in Biol Psychiatry, 59(11): 1061-4.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Bipolar Research Today. All Rights Reserved.