[Effectiveness of finlepsin in the prophylactic therapy of phasic affective psychoses]

The article presents new, specified results of the use of finlepsin (carbamazepine) for the secondary prophylaxis in patients with endogenic affective psychoses. The data have emanated from a 5-year observation of the course of therapy of 73 patients. A positive effect was observed in 83% of cases, including 27.7% of cases with complete disappearance of circulation. No significant differences in the drug efficacy have been found in patients with manic-depressive psychosis versus schizophrenia. Yet, in most of the schizophrenics the phases have disappeared, while patients with manic-depressive psychosis have presented only partial improvement. The authors recommend that doses at the initial stages of treatment be increased in a gradual manner. Variants of a positive therapeutic time-course are described. They have also determined a period of time (3.5-4 months) after which the continuation of the therapy should be considered inadvisable in case of no favourable effect.