Adult Bipolar Disorder Drug May be Safe for Kids By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Oct. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests that lithium -- for years a go-to medication for adults with bipolar disorder -- may be safely used in children with the condition, at least for the short term.

As the researchers explained, lithium has long been the drug of choice for treating adults with bipolar disorder, which is characterized by extreme mood swings. The condition affects about 1 percent of teens and is a leading cause of disability in the teenage years. Bipolar disorder typically begins in the teens or young adulthood, the researchers noted.

While lithium is a standby medication for adult patients, it has "never been rigorously studied in children," lead researcher Dr. Robert Findling, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a university news release.

To try and close that research gap, Findling's group tracked outcomes for 81 young patients with bipolar disorder, aged 7 to 17, who were divided into two groups.

One group (53 patients) started taking a standard dose of lithium, gradually increasing to the maximum dose over eight weeks if their mood symptoms weren't controlled. The other group (28 patients) took a placebo.

The patients who took lithium had much greater improvements in their symptoms than those who took the placebo. About 47 percent of those in the lithium group were "much improved" or "very much improved," compared with 21 percent of those in the placebo group.

And unlike other psychiatric drugs such as risperidone or olanzapine, lithium was not associated with significant weight gain, the researchers found. As well, none of the patients taking lithium had serious drug-related side effects, the team said.

The study, published Oct. 12 in the journal Pediatrics, was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The results can assist doctors when deciding what medication to prescribe for short-term treatment of children and teens with bipolar disorder, said Findling, who is also director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.