Topiramate precipitating a manic episode in a bipolar patient comorbid with binge eating disorder: A case report

Topiramate is a novel antiepileptic drug that is used as an adjunctive in the treatment of partial and secondary generalized seizures. In recent years, psychiatrists have paid more attention to topiramate as a mood stabilizer and as an agent for treating eating disorders, especially in binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa.

Herein, we report a case of topiramate precipitating a manic episode in a bipolar patient comorbid with BED, who complained of emotional instability and binge-eating behaviors.

In this patient, acute manic episode was induced by topiramate treatment at a daily dose of 75 mg for three days.

The dose of topiramate was decreased to 25 mg per day promptly, and the patient gradually became calm but the BED symptoms recurred, then the dose of topiramate was increased to 50 mg per day again. Meanwhile, the dosage of quetiapine was escalated up to 500 mg per night to stabilize her mood.

With a combination of quetiapine 500 mg per night and topiramate 50 mg per day, the emotion and eating problems of this patient concurrently improved.

These findings indicated that patients with a history of bipolar disorder and comorbid BED have a tendency to develop manic episode when taking topiramate. Careful monitoring of mood alterations after topiramate supplement to mood stabilizers is necessary in this population.