Medication algorithm for mood disorders: Present status and future direction in Japan

Abstract

Medication algorithms have been used extensively in treating psychiatric patients, while geographic variations among these reflect the local history of the practice of psychiatry in each region. Here we review algorithms used for mood disorders in Japan in terms of their utility, problems, and possible future development. The first Japanese algorithm for mood disorders was completed in 1997 by the Japanese Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project (JPAP). Development of the JPAP algorithm was evidence-based, giving major but not exclusive weight to clinical trial outcomes. Unlike others, the JPAP algorithm suggests possible addition of a benzodiazepine to first-line antidepressant treatment for major depression. When the first-choice antidepressant fails, the algorithm recommends monotherapy with another antidepressant over “add-on” therapy. Clinical problems with the JPAP algorithm include lack of guidance concerning how to change from one drug to another. Psychiatry in Japan provides less formal structure for post-graduate education and undertakes less communication with the general public than in many countries. This makes use of an algorithm important for improving quality of practice, provided that clinicians remain aware of the advantages, limitations, and problems of algorithms.