The Relative Efficacies of Lithium and Alternative Modes of Treatment

Abstract

Lithium carbonate has been used on thousands of patients in many countries for over a decade. The rationale for its use has been based on over 200 scientific papers, most of which are reports on uncontrolled studies. Most psychiatrists readily accepted lithium, since new significant methods of treatment in psychiatry are quite rare. As with any new promising drug, the use of lithium in clinical practice has been extended into many other areas of psychiatric disorder, e.g. premenstrual tension, obsessive-compulsive neurosis, alcoholism, ulcerative colitis, tardive dyskinesia, aggressive-impulsive behaviour, and phobias (see Chapter 8). Lithium has also been used in combination with other psychoactive drugs, e.g. phenothia-zines, MAO inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepine compounds. In many cases, lithium has only been tried because nothing else has worked.