Lithium Revisited
| Title: | Lithium Revisited |
|---|---|
| Authors: | McIntyre, MD, FRCPC, Roger S.; Mancini, MA, Deborah A.; Parikh, MD, FRCPC, Sagar; Kennedy, MD, FRCPC, Sidney H. |
| Publisher: | Canadian Journal of Psychiatry |
| Date Published: | May 01, 2001 |
| Reference Number: | 524 |
OBJECTIVE: To review lithium's utility in the treatment of mood disorders. METHOD: We reviewed the safety, tolerability, teratogenicity, optimal dosing regimens, and mortality-lowering effects of lithium. Clinical relevance and scientific rigour determined which articles we selected for review. RESULTS: Lithium is the paradigmatic treatment for bipolar disorder (BD). In treating BD, optimal maintenance plasma levels may be approximately 0.75 to 0.85 mEq/L. Although nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is not uncommon, irreversible renal failure due to lithium appears to be a rare, idiosyncratic event. Lithium-induced cardiovascular teratology appears to be less common than previously thought. Optimal lithium dosing may be once daily, this agent appears to bestow a robust suicide-lowering effect, and emerging data hint at neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects. CONCLUSION: Lithium remains an effective and integral agent in the treatment of BD. Its ability to lower suicide rates in persons with BD warrants clinical attention.