scholarly journals Efficacy and safety of lamotrigine in the treatment of bipolar disorder across the lifespan: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 204512532110458
Author(s):  
Frank M.C. Besag ◽  
Michael J. Vasey ◽  
Aditya N. Sharma ◽  
Ivan C.H. Lam

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a cyclic mood disorder characterised by alternating episodes of mania/hypomania and depression interspersed with euthymic periods. Lamotrigine (LTG) demonstrated some mood improvement in patients treated for epilepsy, leading to clinical studies in patients with BD and its eventual introduction as maintenance therapy for the prevention of depressive relapse in euthymic patients. Most current clinical guidelines include LTG as a recommended treatment option for the maintenance phase in adult BD, consistent with its global licencing status. Aims: To review the evidence for the efficacy and safety of LTG in the treatment of all phases of BD. Methods: PubMed was searched for double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trials using the keywords: LTG, Lamictal, ‘bipolar disorder’, ‘bipolar affective disorder’, ‘bipolar I’, ‘bipolar II’, cyclothymia, mania, manic, depression, depressive, ‘randomised controlled trial’, ‘randomised trial’, RCT and ‘placebo-controlled’ and corresponding MeSH terms. Eligible articles published in English were reviewed. Results: Thirteen studies were identified. The strongest evidence supports utility in the prevention of recurrence and relapse, particularly depressive relapse, in stabilised patients. Some evidence suggests efficacy in acute bipolar depression, but findings are inconsistent. There is little or no strong evidence in support of efficacy in acute mania, unipolar depression, or rapid-cycling BD. Few controlled trials have evaluated LTG in bipolar II or in paediatric patients. Indications for safety, tolerability and patient acceptability are relatively favourable, provided there is slow dose escalation to reduce the probability of skin rash. Conclusion: On the balance of efficacy and tolerability, LTG might be considered a first-line drug for BD, except for acute manic episodes or where rapid symptom control is required. In terms of efficacy alone, however, the evidence favours other medications.

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy R Parr ◽  
Emma Todhunter ◽  
Lindsay Pennington ◽  
Deborah Stocken ◽  
Jill Cadwgan ◽  
...  

ObjectiveInvestigate whether hyoscine patch or glycopyrronium liquid is more effective and acceptable to treat drooling in children with neurodisability.DesignMulticentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial.SettingRecruitment through neurodisability teams; treatment by parents.ParticipantsNinety children with neurodisability who had never received medication for drooling (55 boys, 35 girls; median age 4 years). Exclusion criteria: medication contraindicated; in a trial that could affect drooling or management.InterventionChildren were randomised to receive a hyoscine skin patch or glycopyrronium liquid. Dose was increased over 4 weeks to achieve optimum symptom control with minimal side-effects; steady dose then continued to 12 weeks.Primary and secondary outcomesPrimary outcome: Drooling Impact Scale (DIS) score at week-4. Secondary outcomes: change in DIS scores over 12 weeks, Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale and Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication; adverse events; children’s perception about treatment.ResultsBoth medications yielded clinically and statistically significant reductions in mean DIS at week-4 (25.0 (SD 22.2) for hyoscine and 26.6 (SD 16) for glycopyrronium). There was no significant difference in change in DIS scores between treatment groups. By week-12, 26/47 (55%) children starting treatment were receiving hyoscine compared with 31/38 (82%) on glycopyrronium. There was a 42% increased chance of being on treatment at week-12 for children randomised to glycopyrronium relative to hyoscine (1.42, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.95).ConclusionsHyoscine and glycopyrronium are clinically effective in treating drooling in children with neurodisability. Hyoscine produced more problematic side effects leading to a greater chance of treatment cessation.Trial registration numbersISRCTN75287237; EUDRACT: 2013-000863-94; Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency: 17136/0264/001-0003


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 204512532097379
Author(s):  
Danielle Hett ◽  
Steven Marwaha

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a debilitating mood disorder marked by manic, hypomanic and/or mixed or depressive episodes. It affects approximately 1–2% of the population and is linked to high rates of suicide, functional impairment and poorer quality of life. Presently, treatment options for BD are limited. There is a strong evidence base for pharmacological (e.g., lithium) and psychological (e.g., psychoeducation) treatments; however, both of these pose challenges for treatment outcomes (e.g., non-response, side-effects, limited access). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, is a recommended treatment for unipolar depression, but it is unclear whether rTMS is an effective, safe and well tolerated treatment in people with BD. This article reviews the extant literature on the use of rTMS to treat BD across different mood states. We found 34 studies in total ( N = 611 patients), with most assessing bipolar depression ( n = 26), versus bipolar mania ( n = 5), mixed state bipolar ( n = 2) or those not in a current affective episode ( n = 1). Across all studies, there appears to be a detectable signal of efficacy for rTMS treatment, as most studies report that rTMS treatment reduced bipolar symptoms. Importantly, within the randomised controlled trial (RCT) study designs, most reported that rTMS was not superior to sham in the treatment of bipolar depression. However, these RCTs are based on small samples ( NBD ⩽ 52). Reported side effects of rTMS in BD include headache, dizziness and sleep problems. Ten studies ( N = 14 patients) reported cases of affective switching; however, no clear pattern of potential risk factors for affective switching emerged. Future adequately powered, sham-controlled trials are needed to establish the ideal rTMS treatment parameters to help better determine the efficacy of rTMS for the treatment of BD.


2006 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 1020-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Keck ◽  
Jim Mintz ◽  
Susan L. McElroy ◽  
Marlene P. Freeman ◽  
Trisha Suppes ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 1702052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony De Soyza ◽  
Timothy Aksamit ◽  
Tiemo-Joerg Bandel ◽  
Margarita Criollo ◽  
J. Stuart Elborn ◽  
...  

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of ciprofloxacin dry powder for inhalation (DPI) in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, two or more exacerbations in the previous year and pre-defined bacteria in sputum.In this phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients were randomised 2:1 to twice-daily ciprofloxacin DPI 32.5 mg or placebo in two treatment regimens consisting of on/off treatment cycles of 14 or 28 days for 48 weeks. The primary end-points were time to first exacerbation and frequency of exacerbations.A total of 416 patients were randomised to the 14-day on/off regimen (ciprofloxacin DPI (n=137) and placebo (n=68)) or the 28-day on/off regimen (ciprofloxacin DPI (n=141) and placebo (n=70)). Ciprofloxacin DPI 14 days on/off significantly prolonged time to first exacerbationversuspooled placebo (median time >336versus186 days; hazard ratio 0.53, 97.5% CI 0.36–0.80; p=0.0005) and reduced the frequency of exacerbations compared with matching placebo by 39% (mean number of exacerbations 0.6versus1.0; incidence rate ratio 0.61, 97.5% CI 0.40–0.91; p=0.0061). Outcomes for ciprofloxacin DPI 28 days on/off were not statistically significantly different from placebo. The safety profile of ciprofloxacin DPI was favourable.Ciprofloxacin DPI was well tolerated and has the potential to be an effective treatment option in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S126-S127
Author(s):  
R. Sousa ◽  
M. Salta ◽  
B. Barata ◽  
J. Nogueira ◽  
J. Vieira ◽  
...  

IntroductionPsychiatric disorders are frequent among patients with epilepsy. The association between epilepsy and mood disorders is recognized since the classical antiquity. Recent studies demonstrated that the prevalence of bipolar symptoms in epilepsy patients is more significant than previously expected. In the first half of the twentieth century, Kraeplin and Bleuler were the first to describe a pleomorphic pattern of symptoms claimed to be typical of patients with epilepsy and recently Blumer coined the term interictal dysphoric disorder to identify this condition. Although for some authors, the existence of this condition as a diagnostic entity is still doubtful, for others, it represents a phenotypic copy of bipolar disorder.ObjectivesIn this work, we start from the phenomenological similarities between the interictal dysphoric disorder and the bipolar disorder, to explore the neurobiological underpinnings that support a possible link between epilepsy and bipolar disorder.MethodsResearch of articles published in PubMed and other databases.ResultsInterictal dysphoric patients have features that resemble the more unstable forms of bipolar II disorder and benefit from the same therapy used in bipolar depression. Epilepsy and bipolar disorder share features like episodic course, the kindling phenomenon as possible pathogenic mechanisms and the response to antiepileptic drugs. The study of possible common biological processes like neurogenesis/neuroplasticity, inflammation, brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor, hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis, provided promising but not consensual results.ConclusionsFurther efforts to understand the link between epilepsy and bipolar disorder could provide the insight needed to find common therapeutic targets and improve the treatment of both illnesses.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


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