Pharmacopsychiatry 2011; 44(2): 78-81
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1268428
Letter

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Three Cases of Hypomania and One Case of Mania During Aripiprazole Treatment

M. Viikki1 , 2 , H. M. Valtonen3 , 4 , E. Leinonen1 , 5
  • 1University of Tampere, Medical School, University of Tampere, Finland
  • 2Tampere Mental Health Centre, Tampere, Finland
  • 3Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
  • 4Department of Psychiatry, Jorvi Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Espoo, Finland
  • 5Tampere University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Tampere, Finland
Further Information

Publication History

received 24.06.2010 revised 18.10.2010

accepted 19.10.2010

Publication Date:
14 December 2010 (online)

Atypical antipsychotics, like aripiprazole, can induce reversible mood elevation. We report 3 cases of hypomania and 1 mania during low doses of aripiprazole treatment. In 2 patients diagnosed with bipolar II, aripiprazole was used for the treatment of depressive episodes and in 1 patient it was used as an adjunct agent in treatment-resistant unipolar depression. Mania was induced in the bipolar I patient during treatment for a mixed episode. All cases are highly suggestive of a causal relationship between aripiprazole and hypomania/mania. The antipsychotic action of aripiprazole has been suggested to show an inverted U-shaped dose-response; in smaller aripiprazole doses (<15 mg) it more often acts as a partial agonist, whereas in higher doses more often as an antagonist. It may therefore be more likely to induce hypomania/mania in smaller doses. Our cases support this hypothesis.

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Correspondence

M. ViikkiMD, PhD 

University of Tampere

Medical School

33014 University of Tampere

Finland

Phone: +358/50/339 6646

Fax: +358/3/3551 6164

Email: merja.viikki@gmail.com