Verapamil for the Treatment of Acute Mania: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the efficacy of verapamil in acute mania. METHOD: The study was a 3-week double-blind, random-assignment, parallel-group, placebo-controlled inpatient trial of verapamil for patients with acute mania. Of the 32 study patients, 15 were given placebo and 17 were given verapamil. RESULTS: Mean absolute change scores on the Mania Rating Scale at endpoint, with baseline scores as the covariates, did not differ between the verapamil and placebo groups. There were no significant differences between the two groups in age, sex, and presence of psychosis. CONCLUSIONS: The investigators found no benefit of verapamil over placebo in treating acute mania. (Am J Psychiatry 1998; 155:972–973)