Lurisadone is Effective in Mixed Unipolar Depression
Lurasidone (Latuda) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of bipolar depression. A new study indicates that lurasidone is also effective in those with unipolar depression complicated by a few manic features, i.e. mixed depression, which is often more severe and less responsive to traditional antidepressants than traditional unipolar depression.
At a 2015 scientific meeting, Andrew Nierenberg and colleagues presented the results of a six-week study comparing 20–60 mg of lurasidone to placebo in about 200 depressed patients who had some manic symptoms. Lurasidone significantly improved unipolar depressive symptoms in addition to the mixed manic symptoms.
At baseline, the patients’ manic symptoms included: flight of ideas/racing thoughts in 66.8% of the participants, pressured speech in 61.1%, decreased need for sleep in 40.8%, increased energy or activity in 28.0%, elevated or expansive mood in 18.0%, increased or excessive involvement in pleasurable activities in 15.6%, and inflated self-esteem or grandiosity in 6.6%.
