title: Pharmacotherapy for borderline personality disorder--current evidence and recent trends.
abstract: Drug treatment of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) is common but mostly not supported by evidence from high-quality research. This review summarises the current evidence up to August 2014 and also aims to identify research trends in terms of ongoing randomised controlled trials (RCTs) as well as research gaps. There is some evidence for beneficial effects by second-generation antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and omega-3 fatty acids, while the overall evidence base is still unsatisfying. The dominating role SSRI antidepressants usually play within the medical treatment of BPD patients is neither reflected nor supported by corresponding evidence. Any drug treatment of BPD patients should be planned and regularly evaluated against this background of evidence. Research trends indicate increasing attention to alternative treatments such as dietary supplementation by omega-3 fatty acids or oxytocin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Straße 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany, jutta.stoffers@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Jutta M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stoffers
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lieb
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3