Combination Therapy for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorders

October 3, 2016 updated by: Keming Gao, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Combination Therapy in Bipolar Rapid Cycling

This study will compare triple and double drug regimens in the treatment of patients with depression, hypomania, or mania.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Early studies have shown lithium to produce a high percentage of satisfactory clinical response in patients with bipolar disorders. These studies, however, do not include lithium-refractory subgroups, such as bipolar II disorder patients. When the wide spectrum of bipolar disorders is considered, the lithium response rate decreases significantly. More broadly effective regimens are needed.

Participants in this study will be randomly assigned to receive either lithium plus divalproex or lithium, divalproex, and lamotrigine for 7 months. Symptoms of depression and mania will be assessed with scales and patient questionnaires.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
49

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT, CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Bipolar I or II Disorder
  • Meet criteria for rapid cycling, defined as four or more episodes over the past 12 months
  • Meet criteria for a major depressive episode

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of intolerability of lithium, divalproex, or lamotrigine

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: QUADRUPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
EXPERIMENTAL: Lithium + divalproex + lamotrigine
Drug: Lithium
Lithium monotherapy was initiated at 450 mg once daily and titrated slowly over three weeks to a minimum blood level of 0.5 milliequivalent /L (mEq/L).
Other Names:
  • Lithium Carbonate
Drug: Lamotrigine
Patients were assigned in a one to one ratio to adjunctive lamotrigine versus placebo after stratification for illness type (bipolar I versus bipolar II), historical response to lithium (response versus non-response), and length of current exposure to combination treatment with lithium and divalproex (< 2 months versus ≥ 2 months). During Phase 2, patients were continued on the same doses of lithium and divalproex as during the open-label treatment phase and equal capsules of double-blind lamotrigine or matching placebo were gradually added per a structured dosing schedule up to a minimum dose of 150 mg and a maximum dose of 200 mg per day.
Other Names:
  • Lamictal
Drug: Divalproex
Divalproex was then initiated at 250 mg twice daily and increased slowly over five weeks to a minimum blood level of 50 μg/mL.
Other Names:
  • Depakote
  • Valproic Acid
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Lithium + divalproex + placebo
Drug: Lithium
Lithium monotherapy was initiated at 450 mg once daily and titrated slowly over three weeks to a minimum blood level of 0.5 milliequivalent /L (mEq/L).
Other Names:
  • Lithium Carbonate
Drug: Divalproex
Divalproex was then initiated at 250 mg twice daily and increased slowly over five weeks to a minimum blood level of 50 μg/mL.
Other Names:
  • Depakote
  • Valproic Acid
Drug: Placebo
Patients were assigned in a one to one ratio to adjunctive lamotrigine versus placebo after stratification for illness type (bipolar I versus bipolar II), historical response to lithium (response versus non-response), and length of current exposure to combination treatment with lithium and divalproex (< 2 months versus ≥ 2 months). During Phase 2, patients were continued on the same doses of lithium and divalproex as during the open-label treatment phase and equal capsules of double-blind lamotrigine or matching placebo were gradually added per a structured dosing schedule up to a minimum dose of 150 mg and a maximum dose of 200 mg per day.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Proportion of Patients Who Experience a Marked and Persistent Bimodal Response
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 28

A marked bimodal response is defined by the following three conditions over four consecutive weeks while on triple therapy and after three weeks of ltg:

  1. Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score of <= 19
  2. Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) total score of <= 12.5
  3. Global Assessment Scale (GAS) score >= 51

The MADRS measures the severity of a subject's depression symptoms with a possible total score ranging from 0 - 60, with higher scores indicating more severe depression.

The YMRS measures the severity of a subject's manic symptoms with a possible total score ranging from 0 - 60, with higher scores indicating more severe mania.

The GAS measures a used to rate subjectively the social, occupational, and psychological functioning of a subject and ranges in score from 0-100, with a higher score indicating better social, occupational, and psychological functioning.
Baseline and Week 28

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 1, 2002

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 1, 2007

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 25, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 26, 2003

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 27, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 6, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 3, 2016

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • R21MH062650 (NIH)
  • DSIR AT-SO (NorthShore LIJ Health System)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings