How effective Lamotrigine at preventing relapse?

1) One group of studies looked at how effective lamotrigine is at preventing any type of relapse.

When comparing people taking lamotrigine versus people taking no medication, these studies show that:

  • ANY TYPE OF RELAPSE

    LAMOTRIGINE
    52 in 100
    people taking lamotrigine will NOT RELAPSE within 6 months up to 1.5 years
    48 in 100
    people will RELAPSE
    NO MEDICATION
    40 in 100
    people taking no medication will NOT RELAPSE within 6 months up to 1.5 years
    60 in 100
    people will RELAPSE

2) Another group of studies looked at how effective lamotrigine is at preventing relapse into depression.

When comparing people taking lamotrigine versus people taking no medication, these studies show that:

  • RELAPSE INTO DEPRESSION

    LAMOTRIGINE
    71 in 100
    people taking lamotrigine will NOT RELAPSE into depression within 6 months up to 1.5 years
    29 in 100
    people will RELAPSE
    NO MEDICATION
    62 in 100
    people taking no medication will NOT RELAPSE into depression within 6 months up to 1.5 years
    38 in 100
    people will RELAPSE into depression

3) Another group of studies looked at how effective lamotrigine is at preventing relapse into hypomania.

When comparing people taking lamotrigine versus people taking no medication, these studies show that:

  • RELAPSE INTO HYPOMANIA

    LAMOTRIGINE
    81 in 100
    people taking lamotrigine will NOT RELAPSE into hypomania within 6 months up to 1.5 years
    19 in 100
    people will RELAPSE into hypomania
    NO MEDICATION
    77 in 100
    people taking no medication will NOT RELAPSE into hypomania within 6 months up to 1.5 years
    23 in 100
    people will RELAPSE into hypomania
Studies show that lamotrigine is better than no medication at preventing all types of relapse. It appears to be better at preventing depression than hypomania .

A meta-analysis based on studies of relapse in people with bipolar I and II disorders from 3 months up to 3 years (Lamotrigine dose: 100-500mg/day).