Posted by SLS on August 27, 2005, at 9:27:20
In reply to Re: Keppra (levetiracetam) for bipolar disorder?, posted by SLS on August 27, 2005, at 9:08:28
In the following case study of bipolar disorder, the dosage of Keppra found to be optimal for the patient was 2500mg. She initially demonstrated a rapid moderate antimanic response to 1000mg. 2500mg prevented the recurrence of all bipolar features, including manic, rapid-cycling mixed-states, and depression, all of which she had presented with in the past. It is difficult to assess whether or not Keppra monotherapy possesses antidepressant effects, but it apparantly does have antimanic effects. As I have already described, I sustained a brief antidepressant effect from Keppra, but I am also taking several other drugs, including Parnate and nortriptyline. Keppra might at least provide a true mood-stabilizing effect as it seems to have acted as a prophylactic against depression as well as manic mixed states in this one patient.
- Scott
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Epilepsy Behav. 2004 Dec;5(6):1017-20. Related Articles, Links
Monotherapy treatment of bipolar disorder with levetiracetam.Kaufman KR.
Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 125 Paterson Street, Suite 2200, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. kaufmakr@umdnj.edu
Bipolar patients with early-onset, comorbid substance abuse, rapid cycling, and mixed episodes are difficult to treat and frequently require rational polypharmacy. When polypharmacy is unsuccessful, the clinician must consider the off-label use of newer psychotropics. Levetiracetam is a novel anticonvulsant with antikindling, inhibitory, and neuroprotective properties that is effective in an animal model of mania. This case report describes a patient with treatment-resistant rapid cycling bipolar disorder who failed 15 psychotropics, individually or in various combinations (maximum of 6), but ultimately responded to levetiracetam monotherapy and remained without bipolar features during 1 year of maintenance treatment, excluding 1 week during which the patient was medicine noncompliant. Further, methylphenidate used to treat comorbid attention deficit disorder did not precipitate manic features. Levetiracetam should be further studied for its potential use in the treatment of bipolar disorders.
Publication Types:
Case ReportsPMID: 15582854 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
poster:SLS
thread:538236
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050827/msgs/547192.html