The development of lurasidone for bipolar depression

Pharmacologic Treatment and Management of Bipolar Disorder in Adolescents

INTRODUCTION

The importance of the appropriate therapeutic interventions in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD) cannot be overstated since treatment choices and their consequences may have effects into adulthood.

AREAS COVERED

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) investigating treatment of mania, bipolar depression, and maintenance in adolescents with BD are reviewed. When RCTs are not available or are inadequate, naturalistic data or open studies are also reviewed.

EXPERT OPINION

Efficacy and safety of pharmaceutical agents in adolescents with BD appear to mirror adults with BD. Lithium/mood stabilizers are preferred first line agents over antipsychotic medications, but the latter are second line agents particularly in bipolar depression. When lithium is used, serum levels approaching 1.0 mEq/L are reasonable since younger people appear to require/tolerate higher levels. Among the antipsychotics, quetiapine appeared to be minimally better than risperidone while risperidone was associated with greater adverse events. Antipsychotics with antidepressant activity in adults, also appear to have antidepressant effects in youths. Use of antidepressants in bipolar depression is generally not recommended although it may be reasonable in specific clinical situations. The similarities between adolescent and adult outcomes suggest that it is reasonable to utilize adult data to aid with clinical decision making in adolescents with BD, especially when pediatric-specific data are unavailable.

Treatment-induced mood switching in affective disorders

Many patients under treatment for mood disorders, in particular patients with bipolar mood disorders, experience episodes of mood switching from one state to another. Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanism of mood switching, spontaneously or induced by drug treatment. Animal models have also been used to test the role of psychotropic drugs in the switching of mood states. We examine the possible relationship between the pharmacology of psychotropic drugs and their reported incidents of induced mood switching, with reference to the various hypotheses of mechanisms of mood switching.

New drugs in psychiatry - cariprazine, lurasidone, esketamine

Introduction: Invariably, the search for an “ideal drug” in psychiatry has been going for years, one that is safe and effective, prevents relapse and shows the least possible side effects.

Material and methods: The aim of this study authors is to draw attention to new drugs used in psychiatry- cariprazine, lurazidone and esketamine, their mechanism of action, dosage, the most common side effects and metabolism.

The article reviews the research and works on these drugs available in Google Scholar and PubMed databases and the characteristics of medical products on years 2010-2021.

Results: Cariprazine is a drug registered in Poland for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults since July,13 2017. In the world, it is additionally used in the treatment of manic and mixed episodes in the course of bipolar disorder, depression in the course of bipolar disorder and unipolar depression. Lurasidone in Poland is indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients and adolescents from 13 years of age. In the world it is also used to treat depression in bipolar disorder, in some cases off-label in the treatment of mania in bipolar disorder and irritability and anger in autism spectrum disorders. Esketamine in nasal spray in combination with an oral antidepressant has been approved in the US for the treatment of depression in adults for whom other antidepressants have not benefited, in Poland, it is also used in such an indication.

Conclusions: The action profile of these drugs, the research to date and the results of treatment with these drugs are very promising. The drugs are safe and well tolerated. However, it is clinical practice that will verify the usefulness and effectiveness of treatment with them and show the effects of long-term therapies with their use.

Efficacy and safety of lurasidone in children and adolescents: Recommendations for clinical management and future research

Lurasidone is a novel azapirone derivative, and atypical antipsychotic agent with a high binding affinity for dopaminergic (D2), serotoninergic (5-HT2A), and 5-HT7 receptors (antagonist), a moderate affinity for 5-HT1A receptors (partial agonist), and no appreciable affinity for histaminergic (H1) and muscarinic (M1) receptors. It was recently included by the European Medication Agency among the in-label pharmacological treatments for children and adolescents affected by early onset schizophrenia. As a dopamine and serotonin antagonist, lurasidone acts on a variety of receptors and showed its efficacy both as an antipsychotic and an activating compound. Administered with food or within 30 minutes from a meal, it presents sufficient bioavailability and does not interact ith most of the other drugs during metabolism. With little effects on hormones and weight gain, potential procognitive profile due to its 5-HT7 antagonism, and reduced extrapyramidal side effects, lurasidone could be a good choice in terms of both effectiveness and tolerability, particularly for patients headed towards a long-term treatment. This article aims to summarize the available scientific evidence from the literature on the use of lurasidone in children and adolescents and to provide recommendations for clinical management and future research.

Advances toward precision medicine for bipolar disorder: mechanisms & molecules

Given its chronicity, contribution to disability and morbidity, and prevalence of more than 2%, the effective treatment, and prevention of bipolar disorder represents an area of significant unmet medical need. While more than half a century has passed since the introduction of lithium into widespread use at the birth of modern psychopharmacology, that medication remains a mainstay for the acute treatment and prevention of recurrent mania/hypomania and depression that characterize bipolar disorder. However, the continued limited understanding of how lithium modulates affective behavior and lack of validated cellular and animal models have resulted in obstacles to discovering more effective mood stabilizers with fewer adverse side effects. In particular, while there has been progress in developing new pharmacotherapy for mania, developing effective treatments for acute bipolar depression remain inadequate. Recent large-scale human genetic studies have confirmed the complex, polygenic nature of the risk architecture of bipolar disorder, and its overlap with other major neuropsychiatric disorders. Such discoveries have begun to shed light on the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. Coupled with broader advances in human neurobiology, neuropharmacology, noninvasive neuromodulation, and clinical trial design, we can envision novel therapeutic strategies informed by defined molecular mechanisms and neural circuits and targeted to the root cause of the pathophysiology. Here, we review recent advances toward the goal of better treatments for bipolar disorder, and we outline major challenges for the field of translational neuroscience that necessitate continued focus on fundamental research and discovery.

A History of the Pharmacological Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

In this paper, the authors review the history of the pharmacological treatment of bipolar disorder, from the first nonspecific sedative agents introduced in the 19th and early 20th century, such as solanaceae alkaloids, bromides and barbiturates, to John Cade's experiments with lithium and the beginning of the so-called "Psychopharmacological Revolution" in the 1950s. We also describe the clinical studies and development processes, enabling the therapeutic introduction of pharmacological agents currently available for the treatment of bipolar disorder in its different phases and manifestations. Those drugs include lithium salts, valproic acid, carbamazepine, new antiepileptic drugs, basically lamotrigine and atypical antipsychotic agents (olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole, asenapine, cariprazine and lurasidone). Finally, the socio-sanitary implications derived from the clinical introduction of these drugs are also discussed.

Lurasidone in the Treatment of Bipolar Depression: Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews

INTRODUCTION

A burgeoning number of systematic reviews considering lurasidone in the treatment of bipolar depression have occurred since its Food and Drug Administration extended approval in 2013. While a paucity of available quantitative evidence still precludes preliminary meta-analysis on the matter, the present quality assessment of systematic review of systematic reviews, nonetheless, aims at highlighting current essential information on the topic.

METHODS

Both published and unpublished systematic reviews about lurasidone mono- or adjunctive therapy in the treatment of bipolar depression were searched by two independent authors inquiring PubMed/Cochrane/Embase/Scopus from inception until October 2016.

RESULTS

Twelve included systematic reviews were of moderate-to-high quality and consistent in covering the handful of RCTs available to date, suggesting the promising efficacy, safety, and tolerability profile of lurasidone. Concordance on the drug profile seems to be corroborated by a steadily increasing number of convergent qualitative reports on the matter.

LIMITATIONS

Publication, sponsorship, language, citation, and measurement biases.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite being preliminary in nature, this overview stipulates the effectiveness of lurasidone in the acute treatment of Type I bipolar depression overall. As outlined by most of the reviewed evidence, recommendations for future research should include further controlled trials of extended duration.