This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

A Double-blind Study

Frederic M. Quitkin, MD; John Kane, MD; Arthur Rifkin, MD; J. R. Ramos-Lorenzi, MD; D. V. Nayak, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981;38(8):902-907.

Abstract
• The efficacy of lithium carbonate plus imipramine hydrochloride vs lithium carbonate plus placebo in preventing relapse was assessed in a prospective, hydro- doubleblind study of 75 bipolar 1 patients. Outcome measures included type of relapse, time until relapse, and subsequent illness course. Infrequent depressive relapse in either treatment group precluded any demonstration of an advantage of adding imipramine to a lithium carbonate regimen. There was little evidence that the combination of lithium carbonate and imipramine caused adverse reactions. However, interactions between type of most recent episode, treatment condition, sex, and type of relapse showed that women and mania-prone patients treated with imipramine had an increased risk of mania. Life table analysis showed that the overall probability of remaining well was the same for both treatment groups and that two thirds of all relapses occurred in the first six months.

Author Affiliations
From the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York (Dr Quitkin); Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center, Hillside Division, Glen Oaks, NY (Drs Kane, Ramos-Lorenzi, and Nayak); and Mt Sinai Medical Center, New York (Dr Rifkin).

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Jan 22, 1981.

Reprint requests to New York State Psychiatric Institute, 722 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032 (Dr Quitkin).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Antidepressants for Bipolar Depression
FETTER and ASKLAND
Am. J. Psychiatry 2005;162:1546-1546.
FULL TEXT  

The Long-term Course of Rapid-Cycling Bipolar Disorder
Coryell et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003;60:914-920.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Impact of Antidepressant Discontinuation After Acute Bipolar Depression Remission on Rates of Depressive Relapse at 1-Year Follow-Up
Altshuler et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2003;160:1252-1262.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Double-Blind Comparison of Addition of a Second Mood Stabilizer Versus an Antidepressant to an Initial Mood Stabilizer for Treatment of Patients With Bipolar Depression
Young et al.
Focus 2003;1:34-36.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Use of Antidepressants to Treat Depression in Bipolar Disorder
El-Mallakh and Karippot
Psychiatr. Serv. 2002;53:580-584.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Comparison of Imipramine and Paroxetine in the Treatment of Bipolar Depression
Nemeroff et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2001;158:906-912.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Continuation and maintenance therapy in depression
Paykel
Br Med Bull 2001;57:145-159.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Double-Blind Comparison of Addition of a Second Mood Stabilizer Versus an Antidepressant to an Initial Mood Stabilizer for Treatment of Patients With Bipolar Depression
Young et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2000;157:124-126.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pharmacologic Treatment of Bipolar Disorder Through the Life Cycle
Jackson
Journal of Pharmacy Practice 1996;9:95-103.
ABSTRACT  

Rapidly Cycling Affective Disorder: Demographics, Diagnosis, Family History, and Course
Coryell et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1992;49:126-131.
ABSTRACT  

Unnecessary Confusion About Opposite Findings in Two Studies of Tricyclic Treatment of Bipolar Illness-Reply
Shapiro et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990;47:788-788.
ABSTRACT  

Response to Maintenance Therapy in Bipolar Illness: Effect of Index Episode
Shapiro et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1989;46:401-405.
ABSTRACT