Riluzole in the Treatment of Bipolar Depression

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: Bipolar disorder is a common and often chronic and debilitating mental illness. The depressive phase of bipolar disorder contributes the largest portion of the disorder, and treatment resistant bipolar depression represents a significant public health problem. Recent research has suggested that bipolar depression is associated with elevated brain glutamate activity. We hypothesize that riluzole, a drug approved for ALS which inhibits glutamate activity, will lead to clinical improvement in patients with bipolar depression.

Detailed Description: We hypothesize that riluzole will lead to significant reduction in depressive symptoms as measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). Additionally, improvement in depressive symptoms will be associated with reduced glutamate levels in the anterior cingulate cortex, but not parieto-occipital cortex, both at day two and day 42.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Active psychotic/manic symptoms
Lifetime history of schizophrenia or obsessive compulsive disorder
Clinically significant medical disease
Women who are pregnant or lactating and women who are not using a medically accepted method of contraception.

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Riluzole	Riluzole	Riluzole 50 mg twice daily for 2 weeks, increased to riluzole 50 mg in the morning and 100 mg in the evening for 1 week if tolerated, with a further increase to riluzole 100 mg twice daily if tolerated for 3 weeks.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale	Baseline (week 0) - week 6	The Hamilton Depression rating Scale is a clinician-rated scale that measures the severity of depression symptoms using 21 items. Minimum score is zero and maximum score is 65. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Clinical Global Impression Scale	Baseline (week 0) - week 6	The Clinical Global Impression Scale is a clinician-rated scale that evaluates the severity of illness at the time of assessment. The score ranges from 1 (normal, not at all ill) to 7 (among the most extremely ill patients).
Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale	Baseline (week 0) - week 6	The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale is a clinician-rated scale that measures the severity of depression symptoms. The 10 items measured are apparent sadness, reported sadness, inner tension, reduced sleep, reduced appetite, concentration difficulties, lassitude, inability to feel, pessimistic thoughts, and suicidal thoughts. Minimum score is zero and maximum score is 60. Higher scores represent more severe depressive symptoms.
Young Mania Rating Scale	Baseline (week 0) - week 6	The Young Mania Rating Scale is a clinician-rated scale that measures the severity of mania symptoms. The 11 items measures are elevated mood, increased motor activity, sexual interest, sleep, irritability, speech, language-thought disorder, thought content, aggressive behavior, appearance, and insight. Minimum score is zero and maximum score is 60. Higher scores represent more severe mania symptoms.