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Lamotrigine in bipolar affective disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Denise Duncan ,
Harry W. McConnell  and
David Taylor
Denise Duncan*
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital Denmark Hill London SE5 8AZ
Harry W. McConnell
Affiliation:
Neurology Research Fellow, Institute of Psychiatry, London
David Taylor
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, London
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

The study aimed to assess the available data on the use of lamotrigine as a mood stabilising agent. We reviewed all published and unpublished data available to us through a Medline search from 1987–1998 and from our own files, which include reference materials presented at conferences as well as published reports.

Results

Most of the data found were derived from case reports or open trials. We could find no published double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. The data from initial open trials suggest that lamotrigine may be effective in bipolar disorder, but futher data are required before specific treatment recommendations can be made.

Clinical implications

At this early stage, there are too few data to recommend lamotrigine for first or second line therapy in bipolar disorder. However, initial reports are very promising and this agent may eventually be unequivocally shown to be useful in treating mania, hypomania, depression, rapid cycling and mixed affective states in people with bipolar disorder.

Type
Drug Information Quarterly
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 22 , Issue 10 , October 1998 , pp. 630 - 632
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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