One Drug Treats Both
Sides of Bipolar Disorder
Seroquel treats mania and depression associated with bipolar disorder
(May 6, 2004) -- For the first time, doctors have found a single drug that can
treat both the
manic and depressive phases of bipolar disorder.
The
antipsychotic medication Seroquel currently is approved for short-term
treatment of acute manic
episodes. But findings presented May 5 at the annual meeting of the American
Psychiatric Association in New York City show Seroquel also is effective in treating
depressive episodes.
The study involved a randomized trial of 542 patients with bipolar depression
at 39 sites in the United States.
"There was a dramatic response within eight days of beginning treatment in
patients who were
symptomatic with bipolar depression," principal researcher Dr. Joseph R.
Calabrese, director of the National Institute of Mental Health Bipolar Research
Center, said in a prepared statement.
"About 50 percent of patients responded quickly to
treatment of
bipolar depression with Seroquel
versus placebo, achieving remission from their symptoms, with the response
lasting through the eighth and last week of the trial," Calabrese said. "Seroquel
was also twice as effective as placebo in decreasing suicidal thoughts
associated with acute bipolar depression."
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