We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .
A 6-month, multicenter, open-label evaluation of beaded, extended-release carbamazepine capsule monotherapy in bipolar disorder patients with manic or mixed episodes.
BACKGROUND Carbamazepine is frequently used for treating bipolar disorder , but few large trials have assessed its efficacy in preventing relapse . We evaluated open-label monotherapy with beaded extended-release carbamazepine capsules ( ERC-CBZ ; SPD417 ) as continuation and short-term maintenance therapy in bipolar disorder patients with manic and mixed episodes . METHOD A 6-month , open-label study enrolled 92 patients with DSM-IV bipolar disorder ( most recent episode : 67 % [ N = 62 ] mixed , 33 % [ N = 30 ] manic ) who had participated in 2 previous 3-week , double-blind , placebo-controlled studies . Subjects received beaded ERC-CBZ ( 200 - 1600 mg/day ) , titrated at investigators ' discretion to a final mean dose of 938 mg/day and serum carbamazepine concentration of 6.6 microg/mL. The primary efficacy measure was time to relapse , and secondary efficacy measures included Young Mania Rating Scale ( YMRS ) , Clinical Global Impressions scale ( CGI ) , and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression ( HAM-D ) scores . Data were gathered from January 2000 to January 2002 . RESULTS Of 77 patients analyzed in the intent-to-treat population , 11 ( 14.3 % ) relapsed . Fifty-three patients ( 68.8 % ) discontinued early , including 18 ( 23.4 % ) due to adverse events . Observed mean time to relapse was 61.1 days , while estimated mean time to relapse based on the Kaplan-Meier model was 141.8 days . Improvements on the YMRS , CGI , and HAM-D from the beginning of prior double-blind treatment were maintained . The most common adverse events were headache , dizziness , and rash . No significant weight gain was noted . CONCLUSION We noted a low relapse rate with beaded ERC-CBZ in this 6-month trial . Adverse events were generally mild to moderate and were typical of those associated with carbamazepine . Controlled studies are warranted to further explore the efficacy of beaded ERC-CBZ in preventing relapse in bipolar disorder
We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .