BACKGROUND: Levetiracetam is a novel antiepileptic drug with a broad spectrum of efficacy in @entity302 . We have tested the antimanic properties of the drug as an add-on to @entity1767 in an open trial. METHOD: After giving informed written consent, 10 @entity162 acutely manic (DSM-IV) inpatients were investigated in an on-off-on study design. All @entity1 were treated with 5 to 10 mg/day of @entity1767 , depending on tolerability, throughout the investigation. Levetiracetam (up to 4000 mg/day) was added until day 14, then discontinued and reintroduced at day 21. The psychopathologic changes were assessed with the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). RESULTS: After a mean decrease of the YMRS scores from 29.6 to 17.2 during the first "on" phase, @entity162 worsened during the "off" period (YMRS score 20.9) and ameliorated again during the second "on" phase, with a decrease of the mean YMRS score to 14.7 at the end of the study. The mean dose of @entity4677 was 3125 mg/day. At day 14, only 2 (20%) of 10 @entity1 were responders (defined as a decrease in YMRS scores of 50%) compared with 7 (70%) of 10 responders at the end of the study at day 28. CONCLUSION: The results from this open on-off-on add-on study suggest that levetiracetam exhibited additional antimanic effects. Controlled studies are clearly required.

Levetiracetam in the treatment of acute XXXX : an open add-on study with an on-off-on design.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity4677 :: ('MESH:C026098', 'Chemical') :: ['levetiracetam'] @entity162 :: ('MESH:D001714', 'Disease') :: ['bipolar I', 'manic symptoms'] @entity302 :: ('MESH:D004827', 'Disease') :: ['epilepsy'] @entity1767 :: ('MESH:D006220', 'Chemical') :: ['haloperidol']
@entity162 :: (MESH:D001714,Disease) :: ['mania']
