Effects of carbamazepine and lithium on affective disorders

Characteristics of the responders and nonresponders to prophylactic treatment with carbamazepine (CBZ) or lithium (Li) were investigated in a retrospective study of 215 bipolar disorder patients who had received more than 2 years of CBZ or Li treatment in Japan. Patients of mania-dominant type, with isolated occurrence of manic and depressive episodes, with onset of the illness below 30 years of age, and with atypical symptomatology, tended to respond favorably to CBZ. Rapid cyclers and patients with a past history of rapid cycling and with a continuous recurrence of episodes responded unfavorably to CBZ. Patients of mania-dominant type also showed a favorable response to Li, while patients with a continuous-type course, with rapid cycling, and a past history of rapid cycling, as with CBZ, tended to respond unfavorably to Li.