Home ❯ Mood stabilisers

Mood stabilisers

What are mood stabilisers? 

Mood stabilisers, including lithium and anticonvulsants have been proposed as an adjunctive therapy to standard antipsychotic treatments when individuals have sub-optimal responses to treatment. Mood stabilisers may be implemented as an immediate therapy for acute symptoms of psychosis, but they may also be used as part of an ongoing treatment regime. Mood stabiliser medications assessed in this topic include lithium as well as anticonvulsant medications (valproate, carbamazepine, and lamotrigine).

What is the evidence for mood stabilisers?

Moderate to high quality evidence finds a small effect of adjunctive lithium for improving overall symptoms. Moderate quality evidence finds a small effect of improving global state, reflected by clinical response. There was a medium-sized effect of adjunctive lithium for increasing the risk of people leaving studies early.

Moderate quality evidence suggests no benefit of adjunctive lamotrigine for symptoms, however some benefit may be seen in antipsychotic-resistant patients who are receiving clozapine.

Moderate quality evidence suggests no benefit of adjunctive valproate for study attrition or mental state, however, valproate may lower the risk of constipation and tardive dyskinesia, but may increase the risk of sedation.

Moderate to low quality evidence suggests a medium-sized effect of improvements in global state with adjunctive carbamazepine.

September 2020

Last updated at: 5:17 am, 30th September 2020
To view documentation related to this topic download the files below
Fact Sheet Technical Commentary

NeuRA Libraries

Title Colour Legend:
Green - Topic summary is available.
Orange - Topic summary is being compiled.
Red - Topic summary has no current systematic review available.