Pharmacological treatment of bipolar disorder: Evidence from randomized clinical trials

The present article is a synthesis of the published clinical trials about the treatment of Bipolar disorder (BD). The methodology used to search the literature is described and results are presented. Using the best available evidence (systematic reviews of clinical trials or at lest one randomized clinical trial) the following is recommended: 1) acute mania can be treated with lithium, carbamazepine, valrpoate and antipsychotics; 2) acute depression can be treated with lamotrigine, olanzapine/fluoxetine combination and with antidepressants (with an increased risk of switch into mania); 3) maintenance can be performed using lithium, valproate, olanzapine and lamotrigine (when the aim is prophylaxis of bipolar depression). The absence of published results about certain interventions does not mean that such interventions are not useful.