Rate of switch from depression into mania after therapeutic sleep deprivation in bipolar depression

Sleep deprivation is a potentially useful non-pharmacological treatment for depression. A relationship between sleep loss and the onset of mania has been reported, so it is possible that a switch from depression into mania after sleep deprivation might be expected in bipolar depressed patients who are treated with sleep deprivation. In a sample of 206 bipolar depressed treated with three cycles of sleep deprivation, alone or in combination with heterogeneous medications, we observed a 4.85% switch rate into mania and a 5.83% switch rate into hypomania. These percentages are comparable to those observed with antidepressant drug treatments. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.