Mood Stabilizers bupropion

Optimize the dose of mood stabilizing medication(s) before adding on lithium, lamotrigine, or antidepressant (e.g., bupropion or an SSRI) if psychotic features are present, add on an antipsychotic ECT used for severe or treatment-resistant depressive episodes or for psychosis or catatonia... 

Guidelines agree that when antidepressants must be used, they should be combined with a mood-stabilizing drug to reduce the risk of mood switch to hypomania or mania.17,41 The question of which antidepressant drugs are less likely to cause a mood switch is not resolved. Anecdotal reports suggested bupropion may be less likely to cause this effect, but systematic reviews have not supported this conclusion. Prevailing evidence recommends that tricyclic antidepressants be avoided.41,43... 

If the depressive symptoms do not resolve when treatment with one of the aforementioned mood stabilizers has been maximized, adjunctive therapy with an antidepressant or second mood stabilizer should be considered. SSRIs and bupropion are well tolerated by bipolar patients and appear to hold less potential to induce mania than TCAs. Nevertheless, treatment with any antidepressant should not be started until it has been confirmed that the patient s mood stabilizer is at a therapeutic level. If treatment with two or more of these first-line antidepressants is unsuccessful, a MAOI should be considered. 

Care should be taken when prescribing other medications with clozapine. The mood stabilizer carbamazepine (Tegretol) and perhaps the antidepressant mirtazap-ine (Remeron) should not be taken with clozapine because they might further increase the risk of agranulocytosis. Likewise, the antidepressant bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban) should not be taken with clozapine because it may add to the seizure risk. 

In adults, mood stabilizers reduce the risk of cycling and have modest antidepressant effects (APA, 1994b). For patients with bipolar depression who do not respond to mood stabilizers alone, an antidepressant should be added to the treatment. It appears that bipolar depressed patients may be less likely to respond to TCAs than patients with unipolar depressions, who may show a more favorable response to bupropion, SSRI, or MAOIs. Furthermore, some studies, but not all, have also suggested that bupropion and the MAOIs are less likely to produce mania and less rapid cycling (APA, 1994b Compton and Nemeroff, 2000). 

MDD (Birmaher et al., 1996b Keller et al., 2001), and in adults they appear to be poor antidepressants for patients with bipolar depression or may induce rapid cycling (APA, 1994b, 2000), it remains to be seen whether the combination of mood stabilizers and other antidepressants such as bupropion and SSRIs will yield more complete prophylaxis. 

Specific factors to consider are both psychiatric and physical contraindications. For example, bupropion is contraindicated in a depressed patient with a history of seizures due to the increased risk of recurrence while on this agent. Conversely, it may be an appropriate choice for a bipolar disorder with intermittent depressive episodes that is otherwise under good control with standard mood stabilizers. This consideration is based on the limited data suggesting that bupropion is less likely to induce a manic switch in comparison with standard heterocyclic antidepressants. Another example is the avoidance of benzodiazepines for the treatment of panic disorder in a patient with a history of alcohol or sedative-hypnotic abuse due to the increased risk of misuse or dependency. In this situation, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) may be more appropriate. 

Mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics may be helpful in patients who fail to have adequate responses to stimulants, alpha 2 adrenergic agonists, or bupropion,... 

When no response occurs to a mood stabilizer alone, an antidepressant is added to the treatment regimen. SSRIs and non-SSRI antidepressants have been found to be effective for this purpose. The concern of inducing a switch must always be kept in mind, and thus there is a need to continue the use of the mood stabilizer in the presence of antidepressant treatment. Because it has been suggested, and the evidence is inconclusive at best, that bupropion may pose a lesser risk than other antidepressants in inducing hypomania or mania, some physicians prefer this drug over others. 

Some patients may experience apparent lack ot consistent efficacy due to activation of latent or underlying bipolar disorder, and require antidepressant discontinuation and a switch to a mood stabilizer, although this may be a less trequent problem with bupropion than with other antidepressants... 

Activation and agitation may represent the induction of a bipolar state, especially a mixed dysphoric bipolar II condition sometimes associated with suicidal ideation, and require the addition of lithium, a mood stabilizer or an atypical antipsychotic, and/or discontinuation of bupropion... 

At this time, the preferred first-line drug therapy for ADHD is either methylphenidate, dexmethylphenidate, mixed amphetamine salts, or dextroamphetamine. Atomoxetine, bupropion, or TCAs are good options for those umesponsive to or unable to tolerate stimulants. Clonidine and guanfacine are third-line options or adjuncts that require careful cardiovascular monitoring. Mood stabilizers (e.g., lithium, divalproex, and carbamazepine) and atypical antipsychotics are adjuncts for control of aggression or comorbid bipolar disorder. Other agents require further investigation before their status in the treatment of ADHD can be fuUy determined. 

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