Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34979513›Full record

Trial reportNeuropsychobiology2022

Levetiracetam as an Adjunctive Treatment for Mania: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Amir Keshavarzi, Aziz Sharifi, Leila Jahangard, Alireza Soltanian, Annette Beatrix Brühl, Mohammad Ahmadpanah, Serge Brand

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Neuropsychobiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Amir KeshavarziBehavioral Disorders and Substances Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Aziz SharifiBehavioral Disorders and Substances Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Leila JahangardBehavioral Disorders and Substances Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Alireza SoltanianDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Modeling of Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Annette Beatrix BrühlCenter for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders (ZASS), Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Mohammad AhmadpanahBehavioral Disorders and Substances Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Serge BrandCenter for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders (ZASS), Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Hamedan University of Medical Sciences · IRUniversity of Basel · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLevetiracetam is an anticonvulsant with a low side effect profile and favorable properties for individuals with bipolar I disorder during their manic phase. Despite initial promising results until about 2008, it appears that this track of research has not been followed-up. To counter this, we tested the influence of adjuvant levetiracetam on acute mania, compared to placebo. More specifically, we performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial among inpatients with bipolar disorder I during their acute phase of mania.

methodsA total of 72 inpatients (mean age: 33.98 years; 23.6% females) with diagnosed bipolar disorder I and during their acute manic phase were randomly assigned either to the adjuvant levetiracetam (250 mg to a maximum of 1,500 mg) or to the placebo condition. Standard medication was lithium at therapeutic dosages. At baseline, participants completed a series of self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information and subjective sleep. Subjective sleep was re-assessed 24 days later at the end of the study. Experts rated participants' acute state of mania with the Young Mania Rating Scale at baseline and at day 12 and day 24. Participants' cognitive performance was assessed at baseline and at day 24 at the end of the study.

resultsOver time, mania scores significantly decreased (large effect size), but more so in the levetiracetam condition, compared to the placebo condition (medium effect size). Likewise, over time, subjective sleep improved (large effect size), but more so in the levetiracetam condition, compared to the placebo condition (large effect size). Over time, cognitive performance improved (large effect size), irrespective of the study condition.

conclusionsCompared to placebo, adjuvant levetiracetam to lithium improved symptoms of mania, as rated by experts, and subjective sleep quality. Adjuvant levetiracetam had no further favorable (or detrimental) impact on cognitive performance.

Indexed as

Antipsychotic AgentsBipolar DisorderAdultDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansLevetiracetamLithiumMaleManiaPsychiatric Status Rating ScalesTreatment OutcomeAntipsychotic AgentsLevetiracetamLithiumBipolar disorderCognitive performanceLevetiracetamManiaSubjective sleep quality

Identifiers

PMID34979513
PMCPMC9227682
OpenAlexW4206440555

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.