Emerging evidence for the use of atypical antipsychotics in borderline personality disorder.
BACKGROUND
The availability of new atypical antipsychotics provides new opportunities for the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD).


METHODS
Original papers on this topic were sought. Our study reviewed and discussed 14 papers.


RESULTS
2 RCTs, 4 non-controlled open-label studies and 8 case reports. The patient populations studied were highly diverse and the dropout rate after a long follow-up period was high. All of the articles reported positive effects of olanzapine, clozapine, quetiapine and risperidone.


CONCLUSIONS
BPD patients with psychotic-like, impulsive or suicidal symptoms might benefit from atypical antipsychotics. Since the methodological quality of the reviewed articles is poor, further randomised placebo-controlled studies with longer follow-ups are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.
Grootens
K P
KP
UMC St Radboud Nijmegen, Unit for Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuropsychiatry, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. k.grootens@psy.umcn.nl
Verkes
R J
RJ
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003024:Clozapine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D000077152:Olanzapine; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design; D018967:Risperidone / Q000627:therapeutic use
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D003024:Clozapine; D018967:Risperidone; D000077152:Olanzapine