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Abstract
Anticonvulsant drugs are widely used in psychiatric indications. This includes alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms, panic and anxiety disorders, dementia, schizophrenia, and to some extent personality disorders. Besides pain syndromes, their main domain outside epilepsy, however, is bipolar disorder. Carbamazepine, valproate, and lamotrigine are meanwhile recognized mood stabilizers, but several other antiepileptic drugs have also been tried out with diverging or inconclusive results. Understanding the mechanisms of action and identifying similarities between anticonvulsants effective in bipolar disorder may also enhance our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of the disorder.
Acknowledgement
Heinz Grunze received grants/research support, consulting fees and honoraria within the last 3 years from Astra Zeneca, Bial, BMS, Cephalon, Eli Lilly, Glaxo-Smith Kline, Janssen-Cilag, Organon, Pfizer Inc, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier, UBC and UCB Belgium.
Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.