Lamotrigine is a anticonvulsant medication used to treat epilepsy and to delay or prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes in bipolar disorder.
It is considered a first line drug for primary generalized tonic clonic seizures (includes simple partial, complex partial, and secondarily generalized seizures such as focal onset tonic clonic seizures). It is also used as an alternative or adjuvant medication for partial seizures, such as absence seizure, myoclonic seizure, and atonic seizures.
Lamotrigine is also approved for maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder. While the anticonvulsants carbamazepine and valproate are predominantly antimanics, lamotrigine has demonstrated efficacy only in preventing or reducing the risk of recurrent depressive episodes of bipolar disorder.
The drug seems ineffective in the treatment of current rapid cycling, acute mania, or acute depression in bipolar disorder.
