Medicine Used for Bipolar & Epilepsy

Anticonvulsants treat bipolar disorder and epilepsy.

Doctors prescribe anticonvulsant medications to stabilize mood in bipolar disorder and to prevent seizures in epilepsy. As of 2009, researchers had not established why medication for epilepsy is also effective for bipolar disorder.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder causes mood swings from elation to despair.

Bipolar disorder, a severe, recurrent psychiatric condition that causes extreme mood changes, affects nearly 2 million people worldwide, according to Raphael J. Leo, M.D., and Rajesh Narendran in the June 1999 issue of "The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry."

Epilepsy

People with epilepsy suffer from seizures.

According to the Epilepsy Foundation, epilepsy is a medical condition that causes seizures (abnormal surges of electrical activity in the brain). Each year in the U.S., approximately 200,000 new cases are diagnosed.

Similarities

Each episode may work in the brain to "kindle" future episodes.

"Kindling" might explain why anticonvulsants are helpful in both disorders. In epilepsy, repeated seizures may lower the seizure threshold, making future episodes more likely. Frederick K. Goodwin, M.D., and Kay Redfield Jamison, M.D., reported in 2007 that bipolar episodes may "kindle" more frequent mood swings, with shorter periods of normal mood between episodes.

Types

Several epilepsy medicines are also used for bipolar disorder.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, medications used for bipolar disorder and epilepsy include valproate, lamotrigine, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine and gabapentin.

Warning

For a healthier life, take medication as prescribed.

If you have questions about treatment options for bipolar disorder or epilepsy, do not discontinue your current medication without talking to your doctor.

References

• "The Primary Care Companian to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry;" Anticonvulsant Use in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder: A Primer for Primary Care Physicians; Raphael J. Leo, M.D., Rajesh Narendran; June 1999
• Epilepsy Foundation: What is Epilepsy?
• "Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression, 2nd Edition;" Frederick K. Goodwin, M.D., Kay Redfield Jamison, M.D.; 2007

Resources

• National Institute of Mental Health: How is bipolar disorder treated?
• Mayo Clinic: Epilepsy: Treatment
• University of Maryland Medical Center: Anticonvulsants