Journal of clinical psychopharmacology
August 13, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Memantine Augmentation for Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Bipolar Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
Rostami H, Dorafshan Z, Sadrizadeh Irani N, Mofradnejad S, Norouzi S.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
In a small 6-week RCT, adjunctive memantine reduced obsessive-compulsive symptoms more than placebo in patients with bipolar disorder and OCD stabilized on lithium and quetiapine.
What was studied
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 46 patients with bipolar disorder and comorbid OCD on quetiapine and lithium, receiving memantine (n=23) or placebo (n=23) for 6 weeks.
Key findings
- Greater Y-BOCS reduction with memantine (within-group d 1.57 vs 0.42); p-value not fully captured in the abstract
- Memantine reported as safe
Clinical relevance
This raises the possibility of memantine as an adjunct for OCD symptoms in bipolar disorder, but the small, short trial requires replication before clinical adoption.
Who should care
Limitations
Small sample (n=46), 6-week duration, single trial; specific safety data and mood outcomes not detailed in the abstract.
Memantine showed early promise for OCD symptoms in bipolar disorder, pending larger trials.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Background
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms are frequently observed in patients with bipolar disorder and present a significant therapeutic challenge. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of memantine as an adjunctive therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder in patients with bipolar disorder.
Methods
In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 46 patients with bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, stabilized on quetiapine and lithium, were randomly assigned to receive either memantine (n = 23) or placebo (n = 23) for 6 weeks.
Results
The memantine group showed a significant reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale scores compared with the placebo group (Cohen d = 1.57 vs 0.42, P < 0.001). Nausea was the most common side effect, but overall adverse effects were minimal.
Conclusion
Memantine appears to be a safe and effective adjunctive treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder in patients with bipolar disorder, warranting further investigation.
DOI
10.1097/jcp.0000000000002188
PMID
42592752
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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