Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T15:00:07.588Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Controlled Studies of the Acute Antidepressant Effects of Lithium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

E. P. Worrall ,
J. P. Moody ,
M. Peet ,
P. Dick ,
A. Smith ,
C. Chambers ,
M. Adams  and
G. J. Naylor
E. P. Worrall
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow Department of Psychological Medicine, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow G51 4TF
J. P. Moody
Affiliation:
Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, Dundee DD2 5NF
M. Peet
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Department, ICI Pharmaceutical Division, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire Royal Dundee Liff Hospital
P. Dick
Affiliation:
Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, Dundee DD2 5NF
A. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Dundee
C. Chambers
Affiliation:
Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, Dundee DD2 5NF
M. Adams
Affiliation:
Ida Darwin Hospital, Fulbourne, Cambridge, CB1 5EE, University of Glasgow Department of Psychological Medicine
G. J. Naylor
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Dundee
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In two randomized double-blind controlled trials on 63 depressed female in-patients subject to recurrent affective disorder (bipolar and unipolar manic-depressive psychosis) lithium was shown to have major acute antidepressant effects. At the end of three weeks lithium produced more uniform improvement than did imipramine; lithium in combination with tryptophan (in the form of Optimax) was superior to tryptophan alone—the latter drug having no discernible antidepressant activity in this group of patients.

Lithium did not produce an antidepressant effect until the second and third week of both trials.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 135 , Issue 3 , September 1979 , pp. 255 - 262
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1979 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baastrup, P. (1969) Practical clinical viewpoints regarding treatment with lithium. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Supplement No. 207, 12–18.Google Scholar
Baron, M., Gershon, E. S., Rudy, V., Jonas, W. Z. & Buchsbaum, M. (1975) Lithium carbonate response in depression: prediction by unipolar/bipolar illness, average-evoked response, catechol-o-methyl transferase, and family history. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 1107–11.Google Scholar
Cazzullo, C. L., Smeraldi, E., Sacchetti, E. & Bottinelli, S. (1975) Intracellular lithium concentration and clinical response. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 298–300.Google Scholar
Dorus, E., Pandey, G. N. & Davis, J. M. (1975) Genetic determinants of lithium ion distribution. An in vivo monozygotic-dizygotic twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 1097–100.Google Scholar
Fieve, R. R., Platman, S. R. & Plutchik, R. R. (1968) The use of lithium in affective disorders. I. Acute endogenous depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 487–91.Google Scholar
Frazer, A., Gottlieb, J. & Mendels, J. (1977) Lithium ratio and clinical response in manic-depressive illness. Lancet, i, 41–2.Google Scholar
Frazer, A., Mendels, J., Brunswick, D., London, J., Pring, M., Ramsey, T. A. & Rybakowski, J. (1978) Erythrocyte concentrations of the lithium ion: clinical correlates and mechanisms of action. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 1065–9.Google ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, F. K., Murphy, D. L., Dunner, D. L. & Bunney, W. E. (1972) Lithium response in unipolar versus bipolar depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 129, 44–7.Google Scholar
Griel, W. & Eisenried, F. (1978) Lithium uptake of erythrocytes of lithium-treated patients: inter-individual differences. In Lithium in Medical Practice (eds. Johnson, F.N. and Johnson, Susan). Lancaster: MTP Press Ltd.Google Scholar
Hamilton, M. (1967) Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 6, 278–96.Google Scholar
Hullin, R. P. (1978) The place of lithium in biological psychiatry. In Lithium in Medical Practice (eds. Johnson, F.N. and Johnson, Susan). Lancaster: MTP Press Ltd.Google Scholar
Jenner, F. A. (1977) Some of the problems and difficulties associated with clinical studies of antidepressant agents. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 4, 199S–207S.Google Scholar
Johnson, G. (1974) Antidepressant effect of lithium. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 15, 43–7.Google Scholar
Kirk, R. E. (1968) Experimental Design Procedures for the Behavioural Sciences. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Lee, C. R. & Paschalis, C. (1978) Lithium metabolism as a guide to the selection of patients for lithium therapy. In Lithium in Medical Practice (eds. Johnson, F.N. and Johnson, Susan). Lancaster: MTP Press Ltd.Google Scholar
Little, J. C., Kerr, T. A. & McClelland, H. A. (1978) Where are the untreated depressives? British Medical Journal, i, 1593–4.Google Scholar
Medical Research Council. Clinical Psychiatry Committee (1965) Clinical trial of the treatment of depressive illness. British Medical Journal, i, 881–6.Google Scholar
Mendels, J., Secunda, S. K. & Dyson, W. L. (1972) A controlled study of the antidepressant effects of lithium carbonate. Archives of General Psychiatry, 26, 154–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendels, J. & Frazer, A. (1973) Intracellular lithium concentration and clinical response: towards a membrane theory of depression. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 10, 9–18.Google Scholar
Mendels, J. (1976) Lithium in the treatment of depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 373–8.Google ScholarPubMed
Mendlewicz, J., Verbanck, P., Linkowski, P. & Wilmotte, J. (1978) Lithium accumulation in erythrocytes of manic-depressive patients: an in vivo twin study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 436–44.Google Scholar
Moody, J. P., Tait, A. C. & Todrick, A. (1967) Plasma levels of imipramine and desmethylimipramine during therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 113, 183–93.Google Scholar
Naylor, G. J., Dick, D. A. T., Le Poidevin, D. & Whyte, S. F. (1973) Erythrocyte membrane cation carrier in depressive illness. Psychological Medicine, 3, 502–8.Google Scholar
Naylor, G. J., Dick, D. A. T., Dick, E. G., Worrall, E. P., Peet, M., Dick, P. & Boardman, L. J. (1976) Erythrocyte membrane cation carrier in mania. Psychological Medicine, 6, 659–63.Google Scholar
Naylor, G. J., Smith, A., Boardman, L. J., Dick, D. A. T., Dick, E. G. & Dick, P. (1977) Lithium and erythrocyte membrane cation carrier studies in normal and manic-depressive subjects. Psychological Medicine, 7, 229–33.Google Scholar
Noyes, R. Jr., Dempsey, G. M., Blum, A. & Cavanaugh, G. L. (1974) Lithium treatment of depression. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 15, 187–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peet, M. (1975) Lithium in the acute treatment of mania. In Lithium Research and Therapy (ed. Johnson, F. N.). London: Academic Press Inc. Ltd.Google Scholar
Pybus, J. & Bowes, G. N. (1970) Measurement of serum lithium by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Clinical Chemistry, 16, 139–43.Google Scholar
Ostrow, D. G., Pandey, G. N., Davis, J. M., Hurt, S. W. & Tosteson, D. C. (1978) A heritable disorder of lithium transport in erythrocytes of a subpopulation of manic-depressive patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 1070–8.Google Scholar
Schou, M. (1968) Lithium in psychiatric therapy and prophylaxis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 6, 67–95.Google Scholar
Schou, M., Amdisen, A. & Baastrup, P. C. (1971) The practical management of lithium treatment. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 6, 53–60.Google Scholar
Stokes, P. E., Stoll, P. M., Shamoian, C. A. & Patton, M. J. (1971) Efficacy of lithium as acute treatment of manic-depressive illness. Lancet, i, 1319–25.Google Scholar
Watanabe, S., Ishino, H. & Otsuki, S. (1975) Double-blind comparison of lithium carbonate and imipramine in treatment of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 659–68.Google Scholar
Worrall, E. P., Moody, J. P. and Naylor, G. J. (1975) Lithium in non-manic depressives: antiaggressive effect and red blood cell lithium values. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 464–8.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.