A Comparison Study of the Efficacy and Tolerability of Depakote ER and Depakote DR

There are several studies demonstrating the efficacy of divalproex in the acute treatment of mania and mixed mania. In fact, the American Psychiatric Associations Practice Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder recommends divalproex as a first-line treatment for acute mania and acute mixed mania; divalproex is the treatment of choice in the treatment of acute mixed mania. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved divalproex for the acute treatment of mania in the 1990's. A new formulation, divalproex, Depakote ER, was recently FDA approved for the treatment of epilepsy and prophylaxis of migraine headaches. In a pooled data analysis of nine open-labeled trials involving 321 epilepsy and bipolar disorder patients, Smith et al. that Depakote ER was associated with superior tolerability including less frequent tremors, weight gain, and gastrointestinal complaints (all p\<0.001) compared with Depakote DR. Depakote ER was preferred by subjects and it provided improved seizure control and a greater reduction in psychiatric symptoms.