Escitalopram as a Mood Stabilizer for Bipolar II Disorder
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2005-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
This study will investigate the efficacy of Escitalopram, a Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant, in the treatment of Bipolar II Disorder.
The use of antidepressants for those with bipolar disorder appears common in clinical
practice but is not countenanced - at least as monotherapy - in formal treatment guidelines.
This view reflects concerns about the possibility of antidepressant drugs inducing switching
and rapid cycling in those with Bipolar Disorder. Although the effectiveness of treating
Bipolar II patients with SSRIs has received very little attention in the literature,
observations of Bipolar II patients treated with SSRIs suggest they may have general mood
stabilising properties. Many patients have reported improvements not only in their depressed
mood, but also a reduction in the severity, duration and frequency of hypomanic episodes.
In this proof of concept study we specifically assess whether a standard dose of an SSRI
antidepressant is more effective than placebo in reducing the frequency, severity and
duration of both depressive and hypomanic episodes.