Is combination therapy with lithium and valproate more effective in preventing relapses in patients with bipolar I disorder than monotherapy with either drug alone?

The authors of a study that recently appeared in the The Lancet set out to address that important question. And it’s that study that Dr. S. Nassir Ghaemi chose as his “Top Paper” of the year. Dr Ghaemi, who is professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, will discuss the highlights of that study -- and what it might mean for your practice.

Dr Ghaemi's Top Paper of the Year: BALANCE
Dr Ghaemi's Top Paper of the Year: BALANCE
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Read the original paper:

BALANCE investigators and collaborators, Geddes JR, Goodwin GM, Rendell J, et al. Lithium plus valproate combination therapy versus monotherapy for relapse prevention in bipolar I disorder (BALANCE): a randomised open-label trial. Lancet. 2010;30;375(9712):385-395. Epub 2010 Jan 19.