A lithium and carbamazepine combination in the treatment of bipolar disorder--a preliminary report.

A lithium and carbamazepine combination was reported in five patients with bipolar disorder (DSM-III), who had not received benefits from conventional treatments. Patients 1, 2 and 4 showed favorable antimanic responses to carbamazepine used in combination with lithium carbonate. Patient 3 did not respond well to either lithium or carbamazepine alone, but improved dramatically on the simultaneous administration of the two drugs. The prophylactic benefit was observed in two patients. These clinical results suggest that a lithium and carbamazepine combination may be more efficacious in the treatment of acute manic episode and the prevention of affective recurrences than each drug alone.