Tamoxifen, an Effective Treatment for Manic Episodes

A study conducted by the National Institute of Health'sNational Institute of Mental Health shows that tamozifen, a drug for the treatment of breast cancer, works more efficiently in the treatment of manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder than do other bipolar medications currently available.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by mood swings from depression to mania. Depressive episodes are constituted by feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and guilt, losing interest in activities one typically enjoys, weight changes, eating and sleep disturbances, and suicidal ideation. Manic episodes are characterized by extreme elation, insomnia, irritability, talkativeness, rapid speech, and risk-taking behavior such as driving recklessly, shopping sprees, or sexual promiscuity.

At times individuals experiencing manic episodes require hospitalization.

Since protein kinase C (PKC), an enzyme in the brain is thought to be over-active while individuals are having manic episodes, the researchers wanted to determine if a medication targeting that specific enzyme would work faster than the current medications for manic episodes, which target PKC in an indirect way.

Sixteen individuals with bipolar disorder, experiencing a manic episode took part in the study. The researchers gave a placebo to eight participants while the remaining eight participants received tamoxifen for the treatment of their manic episodes. All participants took either a placebo or tamoxifen for the duration of three weeks. Neither the patients nor the researchers knew which participants were receiving the medication or the placebo.

The researchers discovered that at the end of the three week study, significantly more patients taking tamoxifen were not experiencing mania than those who took a placebo. More specifically, while 13% of participants who received a placebo for three weeks experienced relief from mania, 63% of those who received tamoxifen experienced a reduction in symptoms.