%0 Journal Article %T Review of the use of Topiramate for treatment of psychiatric disorders %A Danilo Arnone %J Annals of General Psychiatry %D 2005 %I BioMed Central %R 10.1186/1744-859x-4-5 %X A comprehensive search from a range of databases was conducted and papers addressing the topic were selected.Thirty-two published reports met criteria for inclusion, 4 controlled and 28 uncontrolled studies. Five unpublished controlled studies were also identified in the treatment of acute mania.Topiramate lacks efficacy in the treatment of acute mania. Increasing evidence, based on controlled studies, supports the use of topiramate in binge eating disorders, bulimia nervosa, alcohol dependence and possibly in bipolar disorders in depressive phase. In the treatment of rapid cycling bipolar disorders, as adjunctive treatment in refractory bipolar disorder in adults and children, schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder, unipolar depression, emotionally unstable personality disorder and Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome the evidence is entirely based on open label studies, case reports and case series. Regarding weight loss, findings are encouraging and have potential implications in reversing increased body weight, normalisation of glycemic control and blood pressure. Topiramate was generally well tolerated and serious adverse events were rare.The use of mood stabilizing antiepileptic drugs has increasingly been explored for the treatment of different psychiatric conditions. Topiramate is a novel neurotherapeutic agent approved in more than 75 countries for adjunctive treatment for refractory partial-onset seizures or primary generalised tonic-clonic seizure in adults and children over 2 years of age and migraine prophylaxis in USA. Several mechanisms of action of topiramate support the hypothesis for its putative actions in bipolar affective disorders, unipolar depression, schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder, disordered eating behaviour. This article reviews the pharmacology of topiramate and describes adverse events and the outcomes observed in published and unpublished studies. Particular interest is focused on topiramate related weight loss and its cl %K topiramate %K mood stabilisers %K psychotropic medications %K psychiatric disorders. %U http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/4/1/5