Report of the WPA section of pharmacopsychiatry on the relationship of antiepileptic drugs with suicidality in epilepsy

Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N; Gonda, Xenia; Baghai, Thomas C; Baldwin, David S; Bauer, Michael; Blier, Pierre; Gattaz, Wagner; Hasler, Gregor; Möller, Hans-Jürgen; Tandon, Rajiv; Vieta, Eduard; Kasper, Siegfried (2015). Report of the WPA section of pharmacopsychiatry on the relationship of antiepileptic drugs with suicidality in epilepsy. International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice, 19(3), pp. 158-167. Taylor & Francis 10.3109/13651501.2014.1000930

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INTRODUCTION

This report from the World Psychiatric Association Section on Pharmacopsychiatry examines the possible relationship of antiepileptic drugs with suicide-related clinical features and behaviors in patients with epilepsy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic review of the MEDLINE search returned 1039 papers, of which only 8 were considered relevant. A critical analysis of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report on the increase risk for patients under antiepileptics to manifest suicidality is also included in this report.

RESULTS

The analysis of these studies revealed that the data are not supportive of the presence of a "class effect" on suicide-related behavior; on the contrary, there are some data suggesting such an effect concerning treatment with topiramate, lamotrigine, and levetiracetam for which further research is needed.

DISCUSSION

For the majority of people with epilepsy, anticonvulsant treatment is necessary and its failure for any reason is expected to have deleterious consequences. Therefore, clinicians should inform patients and their families of this increased risk of suicidal ideation and behavior, but should not overemphasize the issue. Specific subgroups of patients with epilepsy might be at a higher risk, and deserve closer monitoring and follow-up. Future research with antiepileptics should specifically focus on depression and suicidal thoughts.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Review Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy 04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy > Healthcare Research
UniBE Contributor:	Hasler, Gregor
Subjects:	600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
ISSN:	1471-1788
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Language:	English
Submitter:	Gregor Hasler
Date Deposited:	18 Jan 2016 12:11
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:50
Publisher DOI:	10.3109/13651501.2014.1000930
PubMed ID:	25547437
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Antiepileptics, suicidality, anticonvulsants
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/74439