A placebo-controlled, double-blind study of the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole for the treatment of acute manic or mixed episodes in Asian patients with bipolar I disorder (the AMAZE study).

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole in Asian patients with manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder.

METHODS

Subjects were randomised to aripiprazole (24 mg/day; reduced to 12 mg/day if needed for tolerability; n = 128) or placebo (n = 130) for 3 weeks in this multicentre, double-blind study. The primary efficacy measure was mean change from baseline in Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) Total score.

RESULTS

A total of 136 patients (aripiprazole 56.3%; placebo 49.2%) completed the study. The majority of patients (92.6%) received aripiprazole 24 mg/day. Aripiprazole produced statistically significant mean improvements in YMRS Total scores compared with placebo from Day 4 through to Week 3 (-11.3 vs. -5.3; P < 0.001). The most common adverse events (> 15% of patients; aripiprazole vs. placebo) were akathisia (22.0 vs. 5.6%) and insomnia (16.3 vs. 9.6%). Aripiprazole treatment resulted in no significant difference from placebo in change in mean body weight from baseline (-0.4 vs. -0.7 kg; P = 0.231). Aripiprazole was not associated with an elevated serum prolactin level.

CONCLUSIONS

Aripiprazole had significantly greater efficacy than placebo for the treatment of acute manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in Asian patients. Treatment was generally safe and well tolerated.