Lurasidone Benefits Youth With Bipolar Depression Without Major Side Effects

This study included 347 pediatric patients aged 10 to 17 with bipolar I disorder and CDRS-R scores of at least 45. The participants were randomly assigned to either lurasidone (20-80 mg daily) or placebo. At the study endpoint, CDRS-R total scores dropped 21 points in the lurasidone group compared with 15.3 points in the placebo group. Overall response rates ( ≥50% reduction from baseline to week 6 in CDRS-R total score) were 59.5% and 36.5% for the lurasidone and placebo groups, respectively.DelBello and colleagues noted the improvements seen in the current study were comparable to those seen in a clinical trial of olanzapine/fluoxetine combination (OFC) therapy, but lurasidone had a better tolerability profile. The dropout rates among patients due to adverse events were low and similar for both groups in the lurasidone study (1.7% compared with 14.1% in the aforementioned OFC study). The two most common adverse events among patients taking lurasidone were nausea and somnolence. There were no significant differences in weight gain between lurasidone and placebo groups.For related information, see theFOCUS article “Management of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents, ” by DelBello and colleagues.(Image: iStock/gradyreese)For previous news alerts,click here.
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: bipolar depression CDRS-R child and adolescent psychiatry global functioning lurasidone Source Type: research