Abstract
Mood disorders are common and chronic disorders in general population. During acute episodes and chronic treatment of mood disorders, lithium and several antiepileptic drugs (i.e. valproic acid, carbamazepine and lamotrigine) are used as mood stabilizers. Many different adverse effects could be observed during the chronic course of these disorders due to long term drug treatment. Because of their rare prevalence and insufficient evaluation, some of these adverse effects could be missed by the physician. One of such adverse effects is the inşuence of mood stabilizers on bone metabolism. There is relatively scarce number of research about the inşuence of mood stabilizers on bone metabolism in literature. Since some of these drugs are also antiepileptic drugs (valproic acid, carbamazepine, lamotrigine), the studies conducted on this issue mainly involved epileptic patients in pediatric age group. The inşuence and the mechanism of action of these drugs on adult bone metabolism has not been yet clarified. Thus there is not any exact treatment algorithm that could be used among such patients. For all patients, risk and benefit ration of the drugs should be estimated and drugs should be used accordingly. In this paper, the relationship between mood stabilizer drug use and bone metabolism, the mechanism associated with the development of secondary osteoporosis, prevention of such adverse effects and treatment procedures have bben discussed and reviewed brieşy.

Key words: Mood stabilizers, valproate, bone metabolism, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, lithium