Levetiracetam in the management of bipolar depression: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Author(s): Saricicek A, Maloney K, Muralidharan A, Ruf B, Blumberg HP, Sanacora G, Lorberg B, Pittman B, Bhagwagar Z
Affiliation(s): Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Publication date & source: 2011-06, J Clin Psychiatry., 72(6):744-50. Epub 2010 Oct 19.
Publication type: Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of adjunctive levetiracetam therapy compared with placebo in the treatment of subjects with depression with bipolar disorder. METHOD: This double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial randomly assigned outpatients with bipolar disorder type I and type II who were experiencing a major depressive episode (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders-Clinician Version criteria) to treatment with either placebo or adjunctive levetiracetam (up to 2,500 mg/d flexibly dosed) for 6 weeks. The subjects were recruited from October 2005 to June 2008. The primary efficacy measure was mean change from baseline to week 6 in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (21-item). Secondary efficacy assessments included the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Clinical Global Impressions-Bipolar Version scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and the Young Mania Rating Scale. RESULTS: Of 42 subjects randomly assigned to placebo or drug, 32 received at least 1 postbaseline assessment and thus were included in the analysis. The mean (SD) levetiracetam daily dose at endpoint evaluation was 1,132 (425) mg/d. There was no significant difference in the mean change from baseline to week 6 in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores for levetiracetam compared with placebo. There were no significant differences in any of the secondary outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Levetiracetam adjunctive therapy was not superior to placebo in the short-term treatment of subjects with depression with bipolar disorder in the population studied. (c) Copyright 2011 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.
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