JS01-04 - Rational optimization of bipolar disorders’ treatment

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1998-1998
Author(s):  
E. Vieta

Bipolar disorder is difficult to treat. There are several options to treat acute mania, but combination of two or more drugs is the rule rather than the exception, indicating the limitations of currently available therapies. The evidence base for the treatment of bipolar depression is much weaker, and again combination is the rule. Although patients with bipolar disorder may experience resolution of symptoms with acute treatment, many will continue to experience impaired functioning due to the episodic, chronic, and progressive nature of the illness. Maintenance therapy is needed for a variety of reasons, including prevention of relapse, reduction of subthreshold symptoms, decreasing the risk of suicide, and reducing the frequency of rapid cycling and mood instability. Although long-term therapy is usually required to maintain or improve functioning and quality of life, it has been a significant challenge to identify clinically effective treatments for long-term management. There are few currently-available, well-tolerated treatment options that are effective in all phases of bipolar disorder and which prevent recurrence of manic and/or depressive episodes. Questions concerning when to discontinue one of the drugs when two or more are used, or how to switch from one mood stabilizer to another, have not been addressed in clinical trials. Electroconvulsive therapy may be effective in treatment resistant cases and can be used as maintenance when pharmacotherapy is not enough. Psychoeducation may help to enhance treatment adherence and healthy lifestyle. A rational combination of the above mentioned strategies may help to optimize the outcome of this challenging condition.

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (40) ◽  
pp. 5128-5133
Author(s):  
Kate Levenberg ◽  
Wade Edris ◽  
Martha Levine ◽  
Daniel R. George

Epidemiologic studies suggest that the lifetime prevalence of bipolar spectrum disorders ranges from 2.8 to 6.5 percent of the population. To decrease morbidity and mortality associated with disease progression, pharmacologic intervention is indicated for the majority of these patients. While a number of effective treatment regimens exist, many conventional medications have significant side effect profiles that adversely impact patients’ short and long-term well-being. It is thus important to continue advancing and improving therapeutic options available to patients. This paper reviews the limitations of current treatments and examines the chemical compound Linalool, an alcohol found in many plant species, that may serve as an effective mood stabilizer. While relatively little is known about Linalool and bipolar disorder, the compound has been shown to have antiepileptic, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, anti-depressive, and neurotrophic effects, with mechanisms that are comparable to current bipolar disorder treatment options.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birk Engmann

This paper consists of a case history and an overview of the relationship, aetiology, and treatment of comorbid bipolar disorder migraine patients. A MEDLINE literature search was used. Terms for the search were bipolar disorder bipolar depression, mania, migraine, mood stabilizer. Bipolar disorder and migraine cooccur at a relatively high rate. Bipolar II patients seem to have a higher risk of comorbid migraine than bipolar I patients have. The literature on the common roots of migraine and bipolar disorder, including both genetic and neuropathological approaches, is broadly discussed. Moreover, bipolar disorder and migraine are often combined with a variety of other affective disorders, and, furthermore, behavioural factors also play a role in the origin and course of the diseases. Approach to treatment options is also difficult. Several papers point out possible remedies, for example, valproate, topiramate, which acts on both diseases, but no first-choice treatments have been agreed upon yet.


Author(s):  
Ioline D. Henter ◽  
Rodrigo Machado-Vieira

The long-term course of bipolar disorder (BD) comprises recurrent depressive episodes and persistent residual symptoms for which standard therapeutic options are scarce and often ineffective. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, and glutamate and its cognate receptors have consistently been implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders and in the development of novel therapeutics for these disorders. Since the rapid and robust antidepressant effects of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist ketamine were first observed in 2000, other NMDA receptor antagonists have been studied in major depressive disorder (MDD) and BD. This chapter reviews the clinical evidence supporting the use of novel glutamate receptor modulators for treating BD—particularly bipolar depression. We also discuss other promising, non-glutamatergic targets for potential rapid antidepressant effects in mood disorders, including the cholinergic system, the melatonergic system, the glucocorticoid system, the arachidonic acid (AA) cascade, and oxidative stress and bioenergetics.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birk Engmann

Little is known about comorbidities of bipolar disorder such as Parkinson's disease. A case history and a literature survey indicate that bipolar disorder is linked with or influences Parkinson's disease and vice versa. Underlying mechanisms are poorly understood, and, more importantly, no treatment options are established in such double diagnoses. The few data in comorbid Parkinson cases seem to point to a rapid cycling pattern of bipolar symptoms. With regard to therapeutic intervention, the literature supports pramipexole for treatment of both Parkinson and depressive symptoms in bipolar depression. Lithium, the mood stabilizer of choice for treating manic states, is problematical for use in Parkinson patients because of its side effects. Valproate might be an alternative, especially for treatment of rapid cycling.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Julia Dehning ◽  
Heinz Grunze ◽  
Armand Hausmann

Background:The optimal duration of antidepressant treatment in bipolar depression appears to be controversial due to a lack of quality evidence, and guideline recommendations are either vague or contradictive. This is especially true for second line treatments such as bupropion that had not been subject to rigourous long term studies in Bipolar Disorder.Case presentation:We report the case of a 75 year old woman who presented with treatment refractory bipolar depression. Because of insufficient response to previous mood stabilizer treatment and refractory depressive symptoms, bupropion was added to venlafaxine and lamotrigine. From there onwards, the patient improved continuously without experiencing deterioration of depression or a switch into hypomania. Our patient being on antidepressants for allmost four years experienced an obvious benefit from longterm antidepressant administration.Conclusion:Noradrenergic/dopaminergic mechanisms of action may play a more prominent role in bipolar depression, and may still be underused as a therapeutic strategy in the acute phase as well as in long-term maintenance in at least a subgroup of bipolar patients. There is still a lack of evidence from RCTs, but this case report further supports antidepressant long-term continuation and the usefulness of a noradrenergic/dopaminergic antidepressant in the acute and maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S423-S423
Author(s):  
D.I. Jon ◽  
J.S. Seo ◽  
W. Kim ◽  
J.G. Lee ◽  
Y.C. Shin ◽  
...  

IntroductionMany guidelines for bipolar disorders have been introduced based on evidences. In contrast, KMAP-BP was developed by an expert-consensus.ObjectiveTo summarize the medication strategies for bipolar depression over four published KMAP-BP (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014).MethodsThe questionnaire using a nine-point scale had covered some clinical situations with many treatment options about the appropriateness of treatment.ResultsFor mild-to-moderate depression, antidepressant (AD) + mood stabilizer (MS) in early editions and MS or lamotrigine monotherapy and AAP + (MS or lamotrigine) in later editions were preferred strategies. For severe nonpsychotic depression, MS + AD was the only first-line medication in early editions. In 2014, various medications [MS + AAP (atypical antipsychotic), AAP + lamotrigine, MS + AD] were preferred. Valproate and lithium has been rated as first-line MS in all editions. Lamotrigine were positively preferred later. Adjunctive AD was accepted as first-line strategy for severe depression in all editions. Preference of AAP also has been increased remarkably. Adjunctive AAP was not first-line treatment for mild-to-moderate depression in all editions, but was for nonpsychotic depression in 2010 and 2014 and for psychotic depression in all editions. Recommended AAPs have been changed over 12 years: olanzapine and risperidone in 2002 and quetiapine, aripiprazole, and olanzapine in 2014 were first-line AAP.ConclusionThere have been evident preference changes: increased for AAP and lamotrigine and decreased for AD. The high preferences for aripiprazole and lamotrigine in later editions were likely derived from favorable tolerability.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-238
Author(s):  
Mauricio Tohen ◽  
Daniel Yen Lin

ABSTRACTEffective treatments for the prevention of relapse and recurrence of mood episodes in patients with bipolar disorder are essential to reduce the high mortality associated with this condition, and to improve long-term outcomes. While lithium is considered to be effective as a first line maintenance treatment, additional treatment options would provide clinicians with tools to address the needs of individual patients. The efficacy of olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic, for the prevention of relapse in bipolar disorder has been demonstrated in several randomized controlled double-blind clinical trials, both as monotherapy and in combination with other agents. The data reviewed herein suggest a more robust efficacy of treatment with olanzapine in the prevention of relapse into manic episodes than into depressive episodes. The adverse events observed most frequently in patients treated with olanzapine relative to comparators were related to somnolence (somnolence, fatigue, or hypersomnia) and weight gain (weight gain, or increased appetite). Moreover, a larger proportion of olanzapine-treated patients than comparator-treated patients experienced clinically important weight gain.


CNS Spectrums ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Musetti ◽  
Claudia Del Grande ◽  
Donatella Marazziti ◽  
Liliana Dell'Osso

Depressive symptoms and episodes dominate the long-term course of bipolar disorder and are associated with high levels of disability and an increased risk of suicide. However, the treatment of bipolar depression has been poorly investigated in comparison with that of manic episodes and unipolar major depressive disorder. The goal of treatment in bipolar depression is not only to achieve full remission of acute symptoms, but also to avoid long-term mood destabilization and to prevent relapses. A depressive presentation of bipolar disorder may often delay the appropriate management and, thus, worsen the long-term outcome. In these cases, an accurate screening for diagnostic indicators of a possible bipolar course of the illness should guide the therapeutic choices, and lead to prognostic improvement. Antidepressant use is still the most controversial issue in the treatment of bipolar depression. Despite inconclusive evidence of efficacy and tolerability, this class of agents is commonly prescribed in acute and long-term treatment, often in combination with mood stabilizers. In this article, we review available treatment options for bipolar depression, and we shall provide some suggestions for the management of the different presentations of depression in the course of bipolar disorder.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 624
Author(s):  
Sergey Mosolov ◽  
Christoph Born ◽  
Heinz Grunze

Background and Objectives: Unstable mixed episodes or rapid switching between opposite affective poles within the scope of short cycles was first characterized in 1967 by S. Mentzos as complex polymorphous states with chaotic overlap of manic and depressive symptoms. Well-known examples include antidepressant-induced mania/hypomania and rapid/ultra-rapid/ultradian cycling, when clinicians observe an almost continuous mixed state with a constant change of preponderance of manic or depressive symptoms. Achieving stable remission in these cases is challenging with almost no data on evidence-based treatment. When mood stabilizers are ineffective, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been suggested. Objectives: After reviewing the evidence from available literature, this article presents our own clinical experience of ECT efficacy and tolerability in patients with ultra-rapid cycling bipolar disorder (BD) and unstable mixed states. Materials and Methods: We conducted an open, one-year observational prospective study with a “mirror image” design, including 30 patients with rapid and ultra-rapid cycling BD on long-term mood stabilizer treatment (18 received lithium carbonate, 6 on valproate and 6 on carbamazepine) with limited effectiveness. A bilateral ECT course (5–10 sessions) was prescribed for regaining mood stability. Results: ECT was very effective in 12 patients (40%) with a history of ineffective mood stabilizer treatment who achieved and maintained remission; all of them received lithium except for 1 patient who received carbamazepine and 2 with valproate. Nine patients (30%) showed partial response (one on carbamazepine and two on valproate) and nine patients (30%) had no improvement at all (four on carbamazepine and two on valproate). For the whole sample, the duration of affective episodes was significantly reduced from 36.05 ± 4.32 weeks in the year prior to ECT to 21.74 ± 12.14 weeks in the year post-ECT (p < 0.001). Depressive episodes with mixed and/or catatonic features according to DSM-5 specifiers were associated with a better acute ECT response and/or long-term mood stabilizer treatment outcome after ECT. Conclusions: ECT could be considered as a useful option for getting mood instability under control in rapid and ultra-rapid cycling bipolar patients. Further randomized trials are needed to confirm these results.


Author(s):  
Paul E. Keck ◽  
Susan L. McElroy

The vast majority of clinical trials in patients with bipolar disorders have been conducted in groups with bipolar I illness, although a few trials have recently emerged specifically in patients with bipolar II disorder. The pharmacological management of bipolar disorder involves the treatment of acute manic, hypomanic, mixed, and depressive episodes, as well as the prevention of further episodes and subsyndromal symptoms. Lithium, divalproex, carbamazepine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of acute mania in randomized, controlled (Type 1) trials. Although the pharmacological treatment of acute bipolar depression remains understudied, data from randomized, controlled trials indicate that lithium, olanzapine, olanzapine-fluoxetine, quetiapine, lamotrigine, tricyclics, MAOIs, fluoxetine, and pramipexole have efficacy in this phase of the illness. The optimal duration of antidepressant treatment, in combination with mood stabilizers, is still unknown. Lithium, lamotrigine, olanzapine, and aripiprazole have been shown to have efficacy in relapse prevention. Less extensive data suggest that divalproex and carbamazepine are also efficacious as preventative treatments.


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