Abstract
This article summarizes the current knowledge on the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of the drugs used in the treatment of mania, depression, and bipolar disorder in the maintenance phase. Mood stabilizer is the cornerstone of the treatment of bipolar disorder in all phases.
A growing body of evidence on the beneficial effect of second generation antipsychotics (A2G) in various stages has recently been accumulated. A2G have been increasingly used in clinical practice.
Apart from their efficacy, a more rapid onset of action and different range of adverse effects in comparison with the classical mood stabilizers, such as lithium, valproate and carbamazepine, are the reason for this development. The broadening of the diagnosis of bipolar spectrum with states characterized with admixtures of affective symptoms has been an argument supporting the superiority of the A2G.