Pharmacologic treatment of pediatric bipolar disorder

Fourteen-year trends in the prescribing patterns of pediatric bipolar patients discharged from two public mental hospitals in Taiwan

INTRODUCTION

The management of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) requires pharmacotherapy to control acute symptoms, reduce relapse, prevent suicide, and improve psychosocial functioning. The purpose of this study was to investigate prescribing patterns among PBD patients discharged from two public mental hospitals in Taiwan, from 2006 to 2019.

METHODS

PBD patients discharged from the two study hospitals, from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2019 (n = 420), were included in the analysis. Prescribed drugs at discharge, including mood stabilizers (i.e., lithium, valproate, carbamazepine, and lamotrigine), antipsychotics (i.e., second- and first-generation antipsychotics, SGAs and FGAs), and antidepressants, were explored. Complex polypharmacy was defined as the use of 3 or more agents among the prescribed drugs. Time trends of each prescribing pattern were analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage Trend test.

RESULTS

The most commonly prescribed psychotropic agents were SGAs (76.0%), followed by valproate (65.7%) and FGAs (24.8%). The prescription rates of SGAs, antidepressants, antidepressant plus antipsychotic, and antidepressant without mood stabilizer significantly increased over time, whereas the prescription rates of mood stabilizers, lithium, and FGAs significantly decreased.

DISCUSSIONS

Prescribing patterns changed greatly for PBD patients over time. However, much more evidence supporting the effectiveness of psychotropic agents in PBD patients is required.

26-Week Open-Label Extension Study Evaluating the Safety and Tolerability of Flexible Doses of Oral Ziprasidone in Children and Adolescents with Bipolar I Disorder (Most Recent Episode Manic)

Objective: To describe the longer-term effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of open-label ziprasidone in children and adolescents with bipolar I disorder (BD-I). Methods: A subset of 23 participants aged 10-17 years, who were previously treated in a multi-site, 4-week randomized controlled trial received open-label ziprasidone (20-80 mg twice a day) for up to 26 weeks. Results: The most common adverse events (AEs) were fatigue (30%), somnolence (17%), and nausea (13%). Effects on weight, body mass index, and metabolic parameters (glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides) were minimal. No participant had a Fridericia-corrected QT interval ≥ 460 msec or a change from baseline of ≥60 msec, and there were no cardiac-related AEs. Both the participants who continued ziprasidone and those who initiated ziprasidone in the open-label extension showed improvements in their symptoms of mania. Conclusions: The overall findings of the study are consistent with the accumulating knowledge on the safety profile of ziprasidone in the acute and long-term treatment of children and adolescents with BD-I, in the midst of a manic episode. ClinicalTrial.gov ID: NCT03768726.

Bipolar disorder in children

Although bipolar disorder historically was thought to only occur rarely in children and adolescents, there has been a significant increase in children and adolescents who are receiving this diagnosis more recently (Carlson, 2005). Nonetheless, the applicability of the current bipolar disorder diagnostic criteria for children, particularly preschool children, remains unclear, even though much work has been focused on this area. As a result, more work needs to be done to further the understanding of bipolar symptoms in children. It is hoped that this paper can assist psychologists and other health service providers in gleaning a snapshot of the literature in this area so that they can gain an understanding of the diagnostic criteria and other behaviors that may be relevant and be informed about potential approaches for assessment and treatment with children who meet bipolar disorder criteria. First, the history of bipolar symptoms and current diagnostic criteria will be discussed. Next, assessment strategies that may prove helpful for identifying bipolar disorder will be discussed. Then, treatments that may have relevance to children and their families will be discussed. Finally, conclusions regarding work with children who may have a bipolar disorder diagnosis will be offered.

Clinical usefulness of second-generation antipsychotics in treating children and adolescents diagnosed with bipolar or schizophrenic disorders

The onset of severe, chronic or recurrent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders, is a dramatic clinical event often detectable during adolescence and even in childhood. At any age, pharmacotherapy, along with enhancement of social skills and family support, is the mainstay for the management of such disorders. The aim of this review is to critically analyze findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have investigated the clinical utility of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) for the treatment of early-onset schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Eighteen studies were considered, all of which were unfortunately impaired by methodologic limitations, such as the paucity of long-term data and lack of a three-arm comparison (SGA vs SGA vs placebo). Nevertheless, the results of this review allow us to suggest the effectiveness of three SGAs (aripiprazole, olanzapine, and risperidone) in the short-term treatment of both early-onset schizophrenia and bipolar mania, although such agents show different safety profiles. The use of clozapine should be strictly limited to patients with non-affective, psychotic symptoms who do not respond to any of these three SGAs. In contrast, the use of quetiapine and ziprasidone in young patients with either affective or non-affective psychosis is not yet supported by evidence-based information. Given our findings, further studies are urgently required to identify the best treatment option(s) for pediatric bipolar disorder (especially the depressive phase) and the long-term management of early-onset schizophrenia.

Preventative strategies for early-onset bipolar disorder: towards a clinical staging model

Bipolar disorder is a chronic and typically recurring illness with significant psychosocial morbidity. Although the aetiological factors that contribute to the onset of mania, and by definition bipolar I disorder, are poorly understood, it most commonly occurs during the adolescent period. Putative risk factors for developing bipolar disorder include having a first-degree relative with a mood disorder, physical/sexual abuse and other psychosocial stressors, substance use disorders, psychostimulant and antidepressant medication exposure and omega-3 fatty acid deficiency. Prominent prodromal clinical features include episodic symptoms of depression, anxiety, hypomania, anger/irritability and disturbances in sleep and attention. Because prodromal mood symptoms precede the onset of mania by an average of 10 years, and there is low specificity of risk factors and prodromal features for mania, interventions initiated prior to onset of the disorder (primary prevention) or early in the course of the disorder (early or secondary prevention) must be safe and well tolerated upon long-term exposure. Indeed, antidepressant and psychostimulant medications may precipitate the onset of mania. Although mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotic medications exhibit efficacy in youth with bipolar I disorder, their efficacy for the treatment of prodromal mood symptoms is largely unknown. Moreover, mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics are associated with prohibitive treatment-emergent adverse effects. In contrast, omega-3 fatty acids have neurotrophic and neuroprotective properties and have been found to be efficacious, safe and well tolerated in the treatment of manic and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Together, extant evidence endorses a clinical staging model in which subjects at elevated risk for developing mania are treated with safer interventions (i.e. omega-3 fatty acids, family-focused therapy) in the prodromal phase, followed by pharmacological agents with potential adverse effects for nonresponsive cases and secondary prevention. This approach warrants evaluation in prospective longitudinal trials in youth determined to be at ultra-high risk for bipolar I disorder.

Long-term effectiveness of aripiprazole in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder: A naturalistic study

Abstract Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term effectiveness of aripiprazole in Taiwanese samples of adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorders. Methods. This investigation comprises a 24-week, observational, prospective study. A total of 28 patients with bipolar I disorder, diagnosed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, were administered aripiprazole. Effectiveness was assessed by the change from the baseline in Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and The World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL). Results. The sample comprised 19 males and nine females with a mean (SD) age of 18.5 (3.3) years. The diagnosis was bipolar I disorder with manic (n = 8), depressive (n = 6) and mixed (n = 14) episodes. Eighteen patients (64.3%) discontinued aripiprazole prematurely. The CGI severity, BPRS total score improved significantly from the baseline to the endpoint. Conclusion. Aripiprazole led to clinically meaningful improvement of global symptoms in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder. However, discontinuation of medication within 6 months was high. Whether aripiparzole benefits patients with manic episodes more than those with depressive or mixed episodes warrants further investigation.

Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of flax oil in pediatric bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVES

This clinical trial evaluated whether supplementation with flax oil, containing the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (alpha-LNA), safely reduced symptom severity in youth with bipolar disorder.

METHODS

Children and adolescents aged 6-17 years with symptomatic bipolar I or bipolar II disorder (n = 51), manic, hypomanic, mixed, or depressed, were randomized to either flax oil capsules containing 550 mg alpha-LNA per 1 gram or an olive oil placebo adjunctively or as monotherapy. Doses were titrated to 12 capsules per day as tolerated over 16 weeks. Primary outcomes included changes in the Young Mania Rating Scale, Child Depression Rating Scale-Revised, and Clinical Global Impressions-Bipolar ratings using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in primary outcome measures when compared by treatment assignment. However, clinician-rated Global Symptom Severity was negatively correlated with final serum omega-3 fatty acid compositions: %alpha-LNA (r = -0.45, p < 0.007), % eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (r = -0.47, p < 0.005); and positively correlated with final arachidonic acid (AA) (r = 0.36, p < 0.05) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) n-6 (r = 0.48, p < 0.004). The mean duration of treatment for alpha-LNA was 11.8 weeks versus 8 weeks for placebo; however, the longer treatment duration for alpha-LNA was not significant after controlling for baseline variables. Subjects discontinued the study for continued depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Studies of essential fatty acid supplementation are feasible and well tolerated in the pediatric population. Although flax oil may decrease severity of illness in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder who have meaningful increases in serum EPA percent levels and/or decreased AA and DPA n-6 levels, individual variations in conversion of alpha-LNA to EPA and docosahexaenoic acid as well as dosing burden favor the use of fish oil both for clinical trials and clinical practice. Additionally, future research should focus on adherence and analysis of outcome based on changes in essential fatty acid tissue compositions, as opposed to group randomization alone.