Lithium vs carbamazepine in maintenance of bipolar Authors: Greil W and Kleindienst N. Title: Lithium versus carbamazepine in the maintenance treatment of bipolar II disorder and bipolar disorder not otherwise specified. Reference:Int Clin Psychopharmacol 1999;14:283-5. Purpose: To determine the prophylactic efficacy of lithium versus carbamazepine in bipolar II or bipolar disorder (not otherwise specified). Study design: Subgroup of the MAP study (a randomized, clinical trial). Follow up: 2.5 years. Patients: 57 patients (28 lithium, 29 carbamazepine). Treatment: Lithium average serum level 0.646 + 0.129 mmol/L or carbamazepine average serum level 5.89 + 1.26 mcg/mL (630 + 237 mg/day). Results: No significant differences between the two drugs were observed in terms of hospitalization, recurrences, and side effects.
Multicentre study of long-term treatment of Affective and schizoaffective Psychoses
