title: Memantine as an Adjuvant Treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms in Manic Phase of Bipolar Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to examine the effects of memantine as an adjuvant treatment for obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) type I, manic phase.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this 16-week double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, 58 patients in the manic phase of BD who had OC symptoms were randomly allocated to receive memantine or placebo plus their routine medications (lithium + olanzapine + clonazepam). The Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Behavior Scale was used to assess the outcomes. Adverse effects were also recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-eight patients (19 in the memantine group and 19 in the placebo group) completed the trial. Throughout the trial, the mean score decreased from 20.26 ± 5.91 to 9.73 ± 5.44 in the memantine group (P < 0.000) and from 22.89 ± 5.70 to 16.63 ± 4.00 in the placebo group (P < 0.000). At the end of the study, 15 (78.94%) patients in the memantine group and 7 (36.84%) patients in the placebo group demonstrated more than 34% decline in the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Behavior Scale score (P < 0.01). No serious adverse effects were reported.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our double-blind controlled clinical trial showed that memantine is an effective adjuvant agent for reducing OC symptoms in patients with BD. However, it needs to be noted that our study is preliminary, and larger double-blind controlled studies are needed to confirm the results.
authors.affiliation: From the *Substance Abuse Research Center, and †Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sahraian
authors.forename: Leila Razeghian
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Jahromi
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghanizadeh
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mowla
mesh_terms: D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic; D000328:Adult; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002998:Clonazepam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D018757:GABA Modulators / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D018020:Lithium Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008559:Memantine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D000077152:Olanzapine; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care
chemical_list: D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic; D018692:Antimanic Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D018757:GABA Modulators; D018020:Lithium Compounds; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D002998:Clonazepam; D000077152:Olanzapine; D008559:Memantine