Lamotrigine in mood disorders: Flash survey on prescribing habits and blood tests practices.

Objective: Therapeutic drug monitoring for lamotrigine is poorly documented in bipolar and depressive disorders. In order to evaluate its use among French psychiatrists, we explored prescribing habits, therapeutic monitoring and dosage adjustment of lamotrigine through a flash survey.

Methods: A survey was broadcasted by the network of Expert Centers for Bipolar Disorder and Resistant Depression and by the Collegial of Psychiatry of the Assistance publique des Hôpitaux de Paris.

Cytochromes P450 and P-Glycoprotein Phenotypic Assessment to Optimize Psychotropic Pharmacotherapy: A Retrospective Analysis of Four Years of Practice in Psychiatry.

Altered cytochromes P450 enzymes (CYP) and P-glycoprotein transporter (P-gp) activity may explain variabilities in drug response. In this study, we analyzed four years of phenotypic assessments of CYP/P-gp activities to optimize pharmacotherapy in psychiatry. A low-dose probe cocktail was administered to evaluate CYP1A2, 2B6, 2D6, 2C9, 2C19, 3A4, and P-gp activities using the probe/metabolite concentration ratio in blood or the AUC.

Valproate, divalproex, valpromide: Are the differences in indications justified?

In many countries, valproate is indicated for epilepsy only, whereas its derivative divalproex (DVP) and valpromide (VPM) are indicated for bipolar disorders only. DVP is composed of sodium valproate and valproic acid (VA) in a 1:1 molar ratio and VPM is a prodrug completely hydrolyzed in the gastric tract to VA. Whatever the drug, the absorbed and active substance is the valproate ion.