Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:77-80
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Clonazepam treatment of five lithium-refractory patients with bipolar disorder
TA Aronson, S Shukla and J Hirschowitz
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794-8101.
The authors describe the first five patients enrolled in an open clinical
trial of clonazepam as a maintenance treatment in lithium- refractory
bipolar disorder. All patients relapsed quickly after taking clonazepam
(one within 2 weeks and four within 10-15 weeks), and the study was
prematurely terminated. The results cast doubt over the usefulness of
clonazepam as a prophylaxis in lithium-resistant bipolar patients who have
histories of psychotic mania or delusional depression.
