Dataset Information

Efficacy and safety of lithium and lamotrigine for the maintenance treatment of clinically stable patients with bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with an enrichment design.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Whether patients with adult bipolar disorder (BD) who have been clinically stabilized with lithium or lamotrigine should continue this medication is not established fully. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of lithium and lamotrigine for maintenance treatment in clinically stable patients with adult BD.

Methods

This meta-analysis included only double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with an enrichment design that selected patients who responded acutely to lithium or lamotrigine. Reports prior to November 15, 2018, were retrieved from the PubMed/Cochrane Library/Embase. The primary outcome was the relapse rate due to any mood episode at the study endpoint. Other outcomes were relapse rates due to a manic/hypomanic/mixed episode or depression at the study endpoint, discontinuation rate, death, and death by suicide. Risk ratios (RRs) (95% confidence intervals) were calculated. When the random-effects model showed significant differences between groups, the number-needed-to-treat (NNT) was estimated.

Results

The search retrieved two studies regarding lithium (N = 218) and four evaluating lamotrigine (N = 706). Both drugs were superior to placebo for reducing the relapse rate due to any mood episode [lithium: RR = 0.52 (0.41-0.66), P < 0.00001, I² = 0%, NNT = 2.3 (1.6-4.2); lamotrigine: RR = 0.81 (0.70-0.93), P = 0.004, I² = 0%, NNT = 8.3 (5.0-25.0)] and all-cause discontinuation. There were no significant differences in other outcomes between lithium or lamotrigine and the placebo groups.

Conclusion

Both drugs showed benefit for preventing relapse in clinically stable patients with adult BD. However, the number of studies and patients in this analysis was small.

SUBMITTER: Oya K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7292324 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Efficacy and safety of lithium and lamotrigine for the maintenance treatment of clinically stable patients with bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with an enrichment design.

Oya Kazuto K Sakuma Kenji K Esumi Satoru S Hashimoto Yasuhiko Y Hatano Masakazu M Matsuda Yuki Y Matsui Yuki Y Miyake Nobumi N Nomura Ikuo I Okuya Makoto M Iwata Nakao N Kato Masaki M Hashimoto Ryota R Mishima Kazuo K Watanabe Norio N Kishi Taro T

Neuropsychopharmacology reports 20190426 3

<h4>Aim</h4>Whether patients with adult bipolar disorder (BD) who have been clinically stabilized with lithium or lamotrigine should continue this medication is not established fully. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of lithium and lamotrigine for maintenance treatment in clinically stable patients with adult BD.<h4>Methods</h4>This meta-analysis included only double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with an enrichment design that selected pat ...[more]

PMID: 31026388

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Project description:BackgroundLamotrigine is approved as a maintenance therapy for bipolar I disorder in many countries, including China in 2021. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of lamotrigine in controlling relapse and/or recurrence of mood episodes in Chinese patients with bipolar I disorder.MethodsPatients aged ≥ 18 years with bipolar I disorder who met response criteria (Clinical Global Impression-Severity [CGI-S] score of ≤ 3 for ≥ 4 consecutive weeks) during treatment with lamotrigine in a 6-16 week open-label (OL) phase, and who were maintained for ≥ 1 week on lamotrigine 200 mg/day monotherapy, were randomised (1:1) to continue receiving lamotrigine 200 mg/day or switch to placebo in a 36-week randomised double-blind (RD) phase. The primary efficacy outcome measure was time from entry into the RD phase to intervention for relapse and/or recurrence of a mood episode (TIME). Post hoc analyses assessed the impact of OL baseline mood severity on TIME. Safety assessments were conducted throughout the study.ResultsOf 420 patients treated in the OL phase, 264 were randomised to receive lamotrigine (n = 131) or placebo (n = 133). Overall, 112 patients had an intervention for relapse and/or recurrence of a mood episode (lamotrigine, n = 50/130 [38.5%]; placebo, n = 62/133 [46.6%]), with no significant difference in TIME between groups (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval (CI)] 0.93 [0.64, 1.35]; p = 0.701). Post hoc analyses indicated a significant difference in TIME, favouring lamotrigine over placebo, for patients with baseline CGI-S score ≥ 4 (hazard ratio [95% CI] 0.52 [0.30, 0.89]; p = 0.018) and with baseline Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ≥ 18 or Young Mania Rating Scale ≥ 10 (0.44 [hazard ratio [95% CI] 0.25, 0.78]; p = 0.005). Lamotrigine was well tolerated with no new safety signals.ConclusionsLamotrigine was not significantly superior to placebo in preventing relapse and/or recurrence of mood episodes in this study of Chinese patients with bipolar I disorder but post hoc analyses suggested a therapeutic benefit in patients with moderate/severe mood symptoms at baseline. The discrepancy between these findings and the positive findings of the pivotal studies may be attributable to the symptom severity of the bipolar patients recruited, a high dropout rate, and the comparatively short duration of the RD phase rather than race/ethnicity differences. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier NCT01602510; 21st May 2012; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01602510 .

Dataset Information

Efficacy and safety of lithium and lamotrigine for the maintenance treatment of clinically stable patients with bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with an enrichment design.

Aim

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Efficacy and safety of lithium and lamotrigine for the maintenance treatment of clinically stable patients with bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with an enrichment design.

Similar Datasets

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