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Gabapentin and Lamotrigine: Novel Treatments for Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Mark H. Pollack  and
Erin L. Scott
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Abstract

Clinical experience and systematic inquiry demonstrate that many patients with mood and anxiety disorders remain symptomatic despite standard interventions. These observations have prompted the search for alternative pharmacotherapeutic treatment options. Anticonvulsants, including valproic acid and carbamazepine, have demonstrated benefit for a number of psychiatric conditions. Recently, clinical and research attention has focused on the use of the new anticonvulsants gabapentin and lamotrigine as alternatives to standard pharmacotherapies for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. This paper reviews the experience to date with these agents in the treatment of psychiatric conditions. Gabapentin demonstrates promise for the treatment of panic and generalized anxiety, while both gabapentin and lamotrigine appear useful as mood stabilizers in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Type
Grand Rounds
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 2 , Issue 10: New Research: Functional Imaging, Phylogenetic Models, and Pharmacoeconomics , December 1997 , pp. 56 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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