New uses for lithium and anticonvulsants

Lithium and several anticonvulsant medications play an important role in the treatment of bipolar mood disorder. Clinical observations and open clinical trials are beginning to suggest additional therapeutic roles for these drugs. The largest number of reports indicate a monotherapy antidepressant effect for lithium and for lamotrigine. There is also strong evidence for lithium's role in augmenting antidepressant therapy, with reports also suggesting an augmenting role for divalproex and for lamotrigine. The potential usefulness of these medications for 21 other conditions has been reported in the literature, primarily from small case series or open-label, uncontrolled trials.