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The Impact of Mood Stabilizers on Suicide in Bipolar Disorder: A Comparative Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Frederick K. Goodwin  and
S. Nassir Ghaemi
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Abstract

Which mood stabilizers are the most effective in reducing suicide rates in patients with bipolar disorder? This paper reviews the literature and compares the data on two types of mood-stabilizing agents, lithium and anticonvulsants. Compared with the large amount of data on lithium, there is surprising little information available on the effects of anticonvulsants on mortality in manic-depressive illness. Each was also assessed in terms of suicide risk factors such as depression and mixed episodes, rapid cycling, substance abuse, anxiety and panic, and central serotonergic function. Only two studies that provide data demonstrating anticonvulsant efficacy in preventing suicide in bipolar disorder are available, and the data are incomplete at best. Further research in this area should include an emphasis on the outcome of mortality in patients treated with any of the anticonvulsants or with lithium-anticonvulsant combinations.

Type
Academic Supplement
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 5 , supplement S1: Suicide: Risk Assessment and Pharmacologic Intervention , February 2000 , pp. 12 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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