A Pilot Study of Topiramate as Monotherapy in the Treatment of Acute Mania

Abstract
This small-scale pilot study was performed to grossly document safety and any evidence of efficacy of topiramate in bipolar disorder. Ten patients hospitalized for acute mania were given open-label topiramate monotherapy for up to 28 days. The mean Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) score decreased from 32 (range, 26–40) at baseline to 22 (range, 2–40) at the end of the study. Five patients exhibited evidence of moderate to marked improvement, three subjects had at least a 50% reduction in YMRS scores, and the other two patients experienced an improvement of 25% to 49% on the YMRS. The preliminary findings of this small series suggest that topiramate may be effective in acute mania. Double-blind controlled trials are now needed to further investigate the efficacy and safety of topiramate in bipolar disorder.