Methylene Blue for Cognitive Dysfunction in Bipolar Disorder
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2007-10-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
While many bipolar patients treated with mood stabilizing medications experience improvement
in their symptoms, some continue to have ongoing difficulties with concentration and memory.
The purpose of this study is to look at whether these symptoms can be improved by adding the
compound methylene blue to the treatment plan of patients who are already taking lamotrigine.
Methylene blue is an available 'over the counter medication' in Canada. It has been studied
in the long-term treatment of mood symptoms in bipolar disorder. Several clinical studies
done in bipolar disorder report that methylene blue has had positive effects on both
cognition and mood. It is important to do further research in this area as we know that, for
patients who continue to have ongoing cognitive difficulties, there is no recognized standard
of care for bipolar patients who experience these type of deficits.