Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Glen, A.I.M.
• Reading, H.W.

Titel

REGULATORY ACTION OF LITHIUM IN MANIC-DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS

Ist Teil von

• The Lancet (British edition), 1973-12, Vol.302 (7840), p.1239-1241

Ort / Verlag

London: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

1973

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals Complete

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• It is proposed, on the basis of recent observations, that lithium prevents recurrent attacks of mania and depression by regulating cell-membrane A.T.P.ases. The stabilising effect is thought to be achieved by a combination of factors. Periodic fluctuations in the distribution of sodium and potassium across cell membranes during episodes of depression and mania result in secondary changes in the distribution of lithium, allowing it to exhibit certain unique therapeutic characteristics: immediate and readily reversible potassium-like stimulation of the sodium pump as an external cation; competition with sodium for the pump as an internal cation; alteration in the cell/ plasma magnesium ratio; and stimulation of the magnesium-activated A.T.P.ase on prolonged administration. The proposed regulatory mechanism has been tested using the red blood-cell as a model, and is supported by experiments on synaptosomal structures.