Existing and emerging pharmacological approaches to the treatment of mania: A critical overview

Manic episodes are a defining, frequent and dramatically disabling occurrence in the course of Bipolar Disorder type I. Current pharmacotherapy of mania lists a good number of agents, but differences in efficacy and safety profiles among these agents must be considered in order to tailor personalized therapies, especially when the long-term course of the illness is considered. There is wide room and need to ameliorate current pharmacological approaches to mania, but ongoing pharmacological research on the topic is scant. In this work we try to critically assess clinical factors and patients’ characteristics that may influence the treatment choice for manic episodes. In addition, we conduct a narrative review on experimental pharmacology of bipolar mania and psychotic disorders, presenting a critical overview on agents which could represent treatment alternatives for a manic episode in the next future. Results show limited novel or ongoing research on agents acting as mood stabilizers (Ebselen, Valnoctamide and Eslicarbazepine did not reach statistical significance in demonstrating antimanic efficacy). As for the emerging experimental antipsychotic, some of them (including KarXT, SEP-363856, RO6889450, ALKS3831) have demonstrated good antipsychotic efficacy and a favorable safety profile, but little is known about their use in patients with bipolar disorder and specifically designed trials are needed. Lastly, some benefits for the treatment of mania could be expected to come in the next future from non-mood stabilizers/non-antipsychotic agents (especially PKC inhibitors like Endoxifen): long-term trials are needed to confirm positive results in terms of long-term efficacy and safety.