Antimanic Medications: Pharmacological Properties and Evidence for Acute-Phase Efficacy

In comparison with the data available for the use of antidepressant drugs in the treatment of major depressive disorder, the literature involving the efficacy of antimanic drugs is more limited. Whereas there is general agreement that the monoamine systems are involved in antidepressant responses, the neural systems involved in the mechanism of antimanic drugs are poorly defined.

Drugs with established antimanic properties have a wide variety of pharmacological properties. These drugs range from classic antipsychotic agents to a subset of anticonvulsants. Attention has been focused mostly on the intracellular properties of antimanic drugs. This is because very few significant changes in neurotransmitter levels have been measured, suggesting that the site of action is at the receptor or intracellular level. The systems being most intensively investigated in relation to possible mechanism of action are the adenylate cyclase and phosphatidylinositol second-messenger systems and G-protein coupling. Common antimanic drugs and important clinical parameters are presented in

Table 39-7.

Check also:
Antidepressant and Antimanic Medications
Depression-Focused Psychotherapies
Psychodynamic Psychotherapies
Combined Medication and Psychotherapy
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Light Therapy
Treatment-Resistant Mood Disorders
Treatment of Mood Disorders in the Medically Ill Patient
Strategies and Tactics in the Treatment of Depression