The role of asenapine in the treatment of manic or mixed states associated with bipolar I disorder

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorders (BD) are of particular public health significance as they are prevalent, severe and disabling, and often associated with elevated risks of premature mortality. The aim of this concise overview is to investigate the role of asenapine in the treatment of manic and mixed states associated with BD type 1 disorder. METHOD: MedLine, Excerpta Medica and PsycINFO searches were performed to identify papers in English published over the past 7 years. Search terms were “asenapine”, “manic” OR “mixed states”, “bipolar I disorder”. Subjects included in this study suffered from BD type 1 disorder. RESULTS: To date, only four studies of asenapine for the treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with BD type 1 have been published. CONCLUSION: Research indicates that asenapine is generally well-tolerated, and that asenapine is efficacious and not inferior to olanzapine in the treatment of mixed or manic episodes associated with BD type 1 in the short-term and long-term.