Antidepressants for bipolar disorder

The use of antidepressants in the treatment of bipolar disorder remains controversial. Some studies and treatment guidelines suggest that antidepressant treatment for bipolar disorder may have the potential to increase the manic switch, while others recommend short-term antidepressant treatment and early discontinuation. A recent study by Dr. Yingli Zhang and co-workers from Mental Health Institute of Central South University in China involved new large-sample double-blind randomized controlled trials, excluded open-label design studies, and supplemented studies involving homogeneous patients.

Suicidality firstly served as an important outcome, strict inclusion criteria included limitation to double-blind randomized controlled studies and interventional treatment without use of antipsychotics to make the study results more objective and convincing. The results from this study do not support that antidepressants are more effective in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Antidepressants are not superior to placebo and other medication in short-term, and long-term use of antidepressants cannot achieve higher response and remission rates of bipolar disorder. These findings, published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 31, 2013), guide future clinical studies and provide evidence for preparing treatment strategy for bipolar disorder.

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Article: " Antidepressants for bipolar disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, controlled trials " by Yingli Zhang1, 2, Huan Yang1, Shichang Yang3, Wei Liang4, Ping Dai5, Changhong Wang2, Yalin Zhang1 (1 Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China; 2 Psychological Counseling Center, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453002, Henan Province, China;3 Department of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China; 4 Department of Clinical Psychology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453002, Henan Province, China; 5 Sichuan University Library, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China)

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Zhang YL, Yang H, Liang W, Dai P, Wang CH, Yang SC, Zhang YL. Antidepressants for bipolar disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, controlled trials. Neural Regen Res. 2013;8(31):2962-2974.

Contact: Meng Zhao
eic@nrren.org
86-138-049-98773
Neural Regeneration Research

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Meng Zhao
eic@nrren.org
86-138-049-98773
Neural Regeneration Research