psychiatrist

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Original Research

Impact of Antidepressant Continuation After Acute Positive or Partial Treatment Response for Bipolar Depression: A Blinded, Randomized Study

Lori L. Altshuler, Robert M. Post, Gerhard Hellemann, Gabriele S. Leverich, Willem A. Nolen, Mark A. Frye, Paul E. Keck, Ralph W. Kupka, Heinz Grunze, Susan L. McElroy, Catherine A. Sugar, and Trisha Suppes

Published: April 7, 2009

Article Abstract

Objective: To assess long-term outcome in bipolar disorder, subjects were prospectively followed after receiving acute treatment for bipolar depression.

Method: Eighty-three outpatients with DSM-IV bipolar depression who were enrolled between March 1996 and November 2002 and were treated in a 10-week acute double-blind antidepressant treatment trial agreed to participate in a 1-year double-blind continuation of their medication. In the acute antidepressant treatment trial, subjects were treated with a mood stabilizer plus 1 of 3 randomly assigned antidepressants. Sixty-one subjects had attained an acute positive antidepressant response (50% improvement on the Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology [IDS] or 2-point improvement on the Clinical Global Impression for Bipolar Disorder [CGI-BP]) and 22 subjects achieved only acute partial improvement at the end of the 10-week acute trial. In the blinded continuation phase immediately following the acute trial, subjects continued on the same medications and were rated monthly for up to 1 year using the IDS, CGI-BP, and the Young Mania Rating scale.

Results: At study endpoint, 42 (69%) of the 61 acute positive responders maintained positive response and 32 (53%) achieved remission. Compared to the acute positive responders, 6 (27%) of the 22 acute partial responders had achieved positive treatment response at study endpoint (p

Conclusion: Patients who achieve a positive acute antidepressant response to 10 weeks of antidepressant treatment adjunctive to a mood stabilizer will probably maintain response with the same continued treatment. Patients who achieve only a partial acute antidepressant response are less likely to further improve when the same treatment is sustained. The switch rate into mania for patients being treated with an antidepressant adjunctive to a mood stabilizer is not higher than the reported rate for patients on mood stabilizer monotherapy.

Volume: 70

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