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Bonelli, RM; Thau, K.
Lithium
NERVENHEILKUNDE 2002 21: 438-444.
Web of Science

Führende Autor*innen der Med Uni Graz: Bonelli Raphael
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Abstract:: Lithium is a very effective drug for the stabilization of mood disorder in bipolar patients. We examine the development of this drug therapy since its introduction into psychiatry in 1949. Since that time, lithium has been examined in the treatment of a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions, but it is in the treatment of bipolar disorder that it is most effective. There is a close association between long-term lithium treatment, on the one hand, and lowered mortality and reduced suicidal behavior, on the other; no such association has been demonstrated for other mood stabilizers. The risk/benefit ratio of lithium is lower than that of the anticonvulsant drugs. Among contending drugs the anticonvulsants carbamazepine and valproate have attracted particular interest, but the evidence for a prophylactic action in typical bipolar disorder is weak or missing. We discuss side effects that can occur during lithium therapy. Side effects are common but generally benign. Since they can affect compliance, recognition and treatment of early and late-appearing side effects are important aspects of lithium pharmacotherapy.
Find related publications in this database (Keywords): lithium; mood stabilisation; manic-depressive illness