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Electroconvulsive Therapy Studies / Treatment of Major Depression / Bipolar Disorder and Treatment · Journal article
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology · August 12, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
This retrospective case series documents symptomatic improvement in 28 hospitalized adolescents with bipolar depression treated with lurasidone plus concurrent psychotropic medications over a mean 22.7-day stay. However, because all patients received polypharmacy and there was no control group, the independent therapeutic contribution of lurasidone cannot be determined and the findings remain preliminary.
Retrospective case series. Adolescents aged 10–17 years admitted to a university child and adolescent psychiatry unit with bipolar depression, treated with lurasidone-containing regimens.. Intervention: Lurasidone-containing treatment regimen plus at least one concurrent psychotropic medication. n = 28. University child and adolescent psychiatry unit (single centre; country not specified).
HDRS scores decreased from mean 23.0 at admission to 5.7 at discharge (n=25) BDI scores decreased from mean 27.7 to 7.6 (n=25) CGI-S scores decreased from mean 5.9 to 2.1 (n=28)
Universal polypharmacy prevents attribution of improvement to lurasidone alone Mean weight change was +0.85 kg; no manic or hypomanic switch documented; no patient permanently discontinued due to adverse events
While the symptom reductions are numerically substantial, clinicians cannot determine whether lurasidone alone or the concurrent combination of medications was responsible for improvement. This report provides preliminary tolerance data (low rate of treatment discontinuation, modest weight gain) but cannot guide independent prescribing decisions until prospective controlled evidence is available.
Uncontrolled retrospective case series with universal polypharmacy in a small sample (n=28) showing symptom improvement but unable to isolate lurasidone's independent contribution; authors explicitly acknowledge these limitations and call for prospective controlled studies.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
While the symptom reductions are numerically substantial, clinicians cannot determine whether lurasidone alone or the concurrent combination of medications was responsible for improvement. This report provides preliminary tolerance data (low rate of treatment discontinuation, modest weight gain) but cannot guide independent prescribing decisions until prospective controlled evidence is available.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Background: This study aimed to describe short-term clinical outcomes and tolerability associated with lurasidone-containing treatment regimens in adolescents hospitalized for bipolar depression.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 28 adolescents aged 10–17 years who received lurasidone during admission to a university child and adolescent psychiatry unit between May 2024 and June 2025. All patients received at least one concurrent psychotropic treatment. Admission and discharge outcomes were assessed with the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S); CGI-Improvement (CGI-I), adverse events, and weight change were also recorded.Results: Mean length of hospital stay was 22.7 days. Among patients with complete paired data, HDRS scores decreased from 23.0 to 5.7 (n = 25), BDI scores from 27.7 to 7.6 (n = 25), and CGI-S scores from 5.9 to 2.1 (n = 28). At discharge, CGI-I was 1 (very much improved) in 3 patients and 2 (much improved) in 25 patients. No manic or hypomanic switch was documented. Mean weight change was +0.85 kg. The most frequent adverse events were nausea, headache, and akathisia; one patient required temporary treatment interruption for an acute oculogyric crisis, but no patient permanently discontinued lurasidone because of an adverse event.Conclusion: Clinical improvement was observed during hospitalization after lurasidone was introduced as part of multimodal treatment. Because the study was retrospective, uncontrolled, and universally involved polypharmacy, the independent contribution of lurasidone cannot be determined. Prospective controlled studies are needed.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.