Antidepressants were superior to placebo in reducing new depressive episodes in bipolar disorders without increasing risk of new manic/hypomanic episodes either used as monotherapy or in combination with MS .
Subgroup analyses revealed that greater benefit and lower risk may be achieved in BD II than in BD I. However , compared with MS monotherapy , AD monotherapy significantly increased the risk of affective switch with no improvement in prophylaxis of new depressive episodes .
CONCLUSIONS Reduced new depressive episodes may be achieved by long-term AD treatment with no significantly increased risk of new manic/hypomanic episodes in BD , particularly in BD II .
The elevated risk of affective switch  of AD monotherapy compared with MS monotherapy may be contributed to the protective effect of MS in diminishing manic/hypomanic episodes .
OBJECTIVE Efficacy and safety of long-term use of antidepressants ( AD ) in bipolar disorder ( BD ) patients remains highly controversial .
Here we performed a meta- analysis of r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) exploring the efficacy and safety of long-term AD use in BD patients .
Effectiveness of adjunctive antidepressant treatment for bipolar depression.
BACKGROUND Episodes of depression are the most frequent cause of disability among patients with bipolar disorder . The effectiveness and safety of st and ard antidepressant agents for depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder ( bipolar depression ) have not been well studied . Our study was design ed to determine whether adjunctive antidepressant therapy reduces symptoms of bipolar depression without increasing the risk of mania . METHODS In this double-blind , placebo-controlled study , we r and omly assigned subjects with bipolar depression to receive up to 26 weeks of treatment with a mood stabilizer plus adjunctive antidepressant therapy or a mood stabilizer plus a matching placebo , under conditions generalizable to routine clinical care . A st and ardized clinical monitoring form adapted from the mood-disorder modules of the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , fourth edition , was used at all follow-up visits . The primary outcome was the percentage of subjects in each treatment group meeting the criterion for a durable recovery ( 8 consecutive weeks of euthymia ) . Secondary effectiveness outcomes and rates of treatment-emergent affective switch ( a switch to mania or hypomania early in the course of treatment ) were also examined . RESULTS Forty-two of the 179 subjects ( 23.5 % ) receiving a mood stabilizer plus adjunctive antidepressant therapy had a durable recovery , as did 51 of the 187 subjects ( 27.3 % ) receiving a mood stabilizer plus a matching placebo ( P=0.40 ) . Modest nonsignificant trends favoring the group receiving a mood stabilizer plus placebo were observed across the secondary outcomes . Rates of treatment-emergent affective switch were similar in the two groups . CONCLUSIONS The use of adjunctive , st and ard antidepressant medication , as compared with the use of mood stabilizers , was not associated with increased efficacy or with increased risk of treatment-emergent affective switch . Longer-term outcome studies are needed to fully assess the benefits and risks of antidepressant therapy for bipolar disorder . ( Clinical Trials.gov number , NCT00012558 [ Clinical Trials.gov ] . )
Antidepressants were superior to placebo in reducing new depressive episodes in bipolar disorders without increasing risk of new manic/hypomanic episodes either used as monotherapy or in combination with MS .
Subgroup analyses revealed that greater benefit and lower risk may be achieved in BD II than in BD I. However , compared with MS monotherapy , AD monotherapy significantly increased the risk of affective switch with no improvement in prophylaxis of new depressive episodes .
CONCLUSIONS Reduced new depressive episodes may be achieved by long-term AD treatment with no significantly increased risk of new manic/hypomanic episodes in BD , particularly in BD II .
The elevated risk of affective switch  of AD monotherapy compared with MS monotherapy may be contributed to the protective effect of MS in diminishing manic/hypomanic episodes .
OBJECTIVE Efficacy and safety of long-term use of antidepressants ( AD ) in bipolar disorder ( BD ) patients remains highly controversial .
Here we performed a meta- analysis of r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) exploring the efficacy and safety of long-term AD use in BD patients .