Comparative efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological treatments in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder:…
Was lithium considered before choosing lamotrigine to prevent my relapses, and what made lamotrigine the better fit for me?
Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. how we score evidence
In a network meta-analysis of 33 maintenance trials covering 6,846 patients, lamotrigine prevented relapse better than placebo and was among the best-tolerated options, but the authors concluded lithium should remain first-line because it prevents both manic and depressive relapse with better-quality evidence.
Worth asking
Was lithium considered before choosing lamotrigine to prevent my relapses, and what made lamotrigine the better fit for me?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder (to delay time to occurrence of mood episodes, after acute stabilization)
- Epilepsy, adjunctive therapy (partial-onset seizures, primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome; ages 2+)
- Epilepsy, conversion to monotherapy for partial-onset seizures (ages 16+)
Source
Comparative efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological treatments in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis — Miura T, et al. (2014)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70314-1
DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70314-1
How this was scored
- Study design
- Meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Funding
- No external funding
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 6,846
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "gold standard". Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. It scores 88 out of 100 on our published rubric. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Comparative efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological treatments in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis — Miura T, et al. (2014). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70314-1. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Meta-analysis of randomised trials. Funding: No external funding. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is lamotrigine (Lamictal), lamictal FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder (to delay time to occurrence of mood episodes, after acute stabilization), Epilepsy, adjunctive therapy (partial-onset seizures, primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome; ages 2+), Epilepsy, conversion to monotherapy for partial-onset seizures (ages 16+). Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.