Serra G, Demontis F, Serra F, De Chiara L, Spoto A, Girardi P, Vidotto G, Serra G. Memantine: New prospective in bipolar disorder treatment. World J Psychiatr 2014; 4(4): 80-90 [PMID: 25540723 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v4.i4.80]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Dr. Gino Serra, MD, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/b, 07100 Sassari, Italy. dsfserra@uniss.it
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Review
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World J Psychiatr. Dec 22, 2014; 4(4): 80-90 Published online Dec 22, 2014. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v4.i4.80
Memantine: New prospective in bipolar disorder treatment
Giulia Serra, Francesca Demontis, Francesca Serra, Lavinia De Chiara, Andrea Spoto, Paolo Girardi, Giulio Vidotto, Gino Serra
Giulia Serra, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States
Giulia Serra, International Consortium for Bipolar Disorder Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, United States
Giulia Serra, Lavinia De Chiara, Paolo Girardi, NESMOS Department, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy
Giulia Serra, Lavinia De Chiara, Paolo Girardi, Centro Lucio Bini Mood Disorder Center, 00193 Rome, Italy
Francesca Demontis, Gino Serra, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Francesca Serra, Andrea Spoto, Giulio Vidotto, Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35122 Padova, Italy
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this work.
Supported by In part Research Fellowship from the Sapienza Foundation, Rome (to Giulia S) and by Fondazione Banco di Sardegna, Italy (to Gino S)
Conflict-of-interest: Dr. Gino Serra has applied for a patent for the use of memantine to treat bipolar disorder. No other author or immediate family member has current financial relationships with commercial entities that might represent or appear to represent potential conflicts of interest with the material presented here.
Correspondence to: Dr. Gino Serra, MD, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/b, 07100 Sassari, Italy. dsfserra@uniss.it
Telephone: +39-32-90092278 Fax: +39-07-9228715
Received: September 28, 2014 Peer-review started: September 29, 2014 First decision: November 3, 2014 Revised: November 23, 2014 Accepted: December 3, 2014 Article in press: December 10, 2014 Published online: December 22, 2014 Processing time: 86 Days and 0.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Memantine, blocks the development of the supersensitivity of dopamine receptors caused by antidepressants and the ensuing desensitization associated with the depressive like behavior. On the basis of these observations we have suggested the use of memantine in the treatment of mania and in the prophylaxis of bipolar disorders. To test this hypothesis we performed several naturalistic studies that showed an acute antimanic effect and a long-lasting and progressive mood-stabilizing action (at least 3 years), without clinically relevant side effects. To confirm the observations of our naturalistic trials we are now performing a randomized controlled clinical trial. Finally we described the studies reporting the efficacy of memantine in manic-like symptoms occurring in psychiatric disorders other than bipolar.
