Research: Real-World Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Treatments for Bipolar Disorders

Real-World Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Treatments for the Prevention of Rehospitalization in a Finnish Nationwide Cohort of Patients With Bipolar Disorder – JAMA Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Editorial: Enthusiasm and Skepticism About Using National Registers to Analyze Psychotropic Drug Outcomes (free for a limited period)

Commentaries: Lithium treatment for bipolar disorder linked to lowest risk of rehospitalization – Karolinska Institutet, via EurekAlert (free) AND Lithium Top Choice for Preventing Bipolar Rehospitalization – MedPage Today (free registration required)

Related study: Effectiveness of maintenance therapy of lithium vs other mood stabilizers in monotherapy and in combinations: a systematic review of evidence from observational studies – Bipolar Disorders (free)

These observational studies suggest Lithium may be a better choice for treating these patients, but randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify this issue.