ArticleBrain and behavior2021
Lamotrigine for acute bipolar depression: An exploratory item-level analysis.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global burden and trends of depression among women of childbearing age, 1990-2021.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Is the regulation of lamotrigine on depression in patients with epilepsy related to cytokines?Heliyon · 2024Article
- Management of anhedonia after epilepsy surgery.Epilepsy & behavior reports · 2024Article
- Lamotrigine for acute bipolar depression: An exploratory item-level analysis.Brain and behavior · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesLamotrigine is used to treat bipolar depression despite inconsistent evidence. Here we present the results of an exploratory item-level analysis of pooled data from five randomized placebo-controlled trials of lamotrigine for acute bipolar depression. The goal was to determine if certain depression scale items were more responsive to lamotrigine treatment.
methodsThe pooled sample contained 1072 adult outpatients treated for up to 7-10 weeks. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Change scores on individual scale items were compared between treatment groups.
resultsThere were statistically significant effects on items assessing depressed mood/sadness, lack of interest/anhedonia, pessimism/guilt, and anergia/fatigue, on both scales. However, there was marked variation in the baseline symptom prevalence, and items with higher scores at baseline tended to have larger and statistically significant treatment effects.
conclusionsThe results suggested a significant treatment effect on core symptoms of depression. A floor effect appeared to limit the sensitivity of other scale items. Given the exploratory nature of the analysis, firm conclusions cannot be drawn, although the results were consistent with past research. Relying on total depression scale sum scores over targeted assessments of core depressive symptoms may have impeded signal detection in the original trials.
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Registered trials
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