title: The effectiveness of anticonvulsants in psychiatric disorders.
abstract: Anticonvulsant drugs are widely used in psychiatric indications. These include mainly alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal syndromes, panic and anxiety disorders, dementia, schizophrenia, affective disorders, bipolar affective disorders in particular, and, to some extent, personality disorders. A further area in which neurology and psychiatry overlap is pain conditions, in which some anticonvulsants, and also typical psychiatric medications such as antidepressants, are helpful. From the beginning of their psychiatric use, anticonvulsants have also been used to ameliorate specific symptoms of psychiatric disorders independently of their causality and underlying illness, eg, aggression, and, more recently, cognitive impairment, as seen in affective disorders and schizophrenia. With new anticonvulsants currently under development, it is likely that their use in psychiatry will further increase, and that psychiatrists need to learn about their differential efficacy and safety profiles to the same extent as do neurologists.
authors.affiliation: University of Newcastle School of Neurology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, Leazes Wing, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Queen Victoria Rd., Newcastle upon Tyne NE14LP, United Kingdom. heinz.grunze@ncl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Heinz C R
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Grunze
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants