The CANMAT 2018 guidelines seem to think lamotrigine has good data for prevention of mania/hypomania relapse. Calabrese has a post-hoc analysis in 2006 suggesting this. There's also a 2014 network meta-analysis paper by Miura in The Lancet Psychiatry that also reported that lamotrigine was effective against mood relapses.
Lamictal has an interesting history about how its birth that was recently highlighted in a Carlat Report podcast episode. GSK submitted 12 trials of Lamictal that only had two studies with significant effect (maintenance only, failed acute mania/depression/rapid cycling), but in those studies it more than doubled the time to the next mood episode compared to placebo (197 days vs. 86 days).
Richard Weisler tells the tale of science and serendipity that lead to his discovery of lamotrigine for bipolar depression 30 years ago. He shares a few dosing tips, and touches on how he works with patients and their families. Plus, the word of the day: Gramophone Syndrome.Published On...
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