2. Should Lithium Be Used To Treat Bipolar Disorder?
YES!
1. The use of lithium has been shown to increase the amount of grey matter in the brain. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673600027938 Persons who suffer from bipolar disorder particularly, have been shown to have a reduced amount of grey matter in their brain, which can be linked to symptoms among the disorder. With the use of lithium, there is an increase, to a healthy amount (or close to) of grey matter in the brain, eliminating side effects for more than short term potentially. 2. Less likely to cause weight gain than other medications for bipolar disorder and mania. People suffering from bipolar disorder are already at high risk for obesity, or being extremely overweight. With an increase in weight gain, there becomes and increased depressed state. Along with medications, which causes weight gain as a side effect, lithium prevents the excessive depressive state while helping treat the bipolar disorder. For both 2 and 3: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2009.00712.x/full 3. Lithium has had research proven anti suicidal effects that extend beyond its benefits in relapse prevention. Lithium shortens depressive episodes, in return, reducing depressive and suicidal thoughts. In the study, whether the person's response to lithium was good or not, there was a decrease in suicide behavior. References [14,15,16,17,22] |
NO!
1.There can be severe kidney damage. http://www.drtimothylau.com/documents/monitoring%20kidney%20fxn%20w%20lithium%20JCP%202010.pdf If a person is taking lithium for a long-term medication without regular doctor follow ups to monitor dosage increase or decrease, there can be severe and sometimes irreversible damage done to the kidneys. 2. Reduces the levels of protein kinase C in platelets. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016517810000175X The long term use of lithium breaks down the protein kinase C in platelet membranes. 3. Side-effects to stopping lithium usage are strong. http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=495586 More than 50 percent of new episodes of illness happened withing 10 weeks of stopping the use of lithium, with episodes coming back very extreme within weeks. |