Oxcarbazepine in the treatment of bipolar disorder: a review.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To review the data on the efficacy of oxcarbazepine (OXC) in bipolar disorder (BD) and to provide recommendations for clinicians on the use of this medication in treating BD.

METHOD:

Using the terms oxcarbazepine and bipolar disorder, oxcarbazepine and mania, or oxcarbazepine and bipolar depression, we conducted a computer-aided search of MEDLINE for the years 1950 to 2005.

RESULTS:

Case reports, retrospective chart reviews, open prospective studies, and double-blind studies reported the efficacy and effectiveness of OXC in treating BD. The data indicate that OXC has efficacy in treating acute mania and may be a useful add-on in treating acute bipolar depression and in BD prophylaxis. OXC is generally well-tolerated.

CONCLUSION:

We recommend using OXC as monotherapy or as add-on therapy in refractory mania, but we recommend it be used predominantly as an add-on treatment for other phases of BD in patients who have not improved with well-established treatments or in patients who have difficulty tolerating adequate dosages.

• Authors: Wetid Pratoomsri, Lakshmi N Yatham, David J Bond, Raymond W Lam, Chang-Ho Sohn
• Journal: Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie (Can J Psychiatry) Vol. 51 Issue 8 Pg. 540-5 (Jul 2006) ISSN: 0706-7437 [Print] United States
• PMID: 16933591 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)

Chemical References

• Antipsychotic Agents
• Carbamazepine
• Oxcarbazepine

Topics

• Antipsychotic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Bipolar Disorder (drug therapy)
• Carbamazepine (analogs & derivatives, therapeutic use)
• Double-Blind Method
• Guidelines as Topic
• Humans
• Oxcarbazepine
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic