Side effects of lithium therapy and their treatment.

The efficacy of lithium ions (Li +) in abolishing the tumultuous, endogenous excitement of periodic mania was first reported in 1949 by the Australian investigator, Cade (4). His discovery has been corroborated by clinicians and investigators in Great Britain and other European centres, especially by Scandinavian workers. Lithium salts have proved to be most useful in the treatment of the manic phase of manic-depressive reactions, and prophylactically against the depressive and manic relapses so striking in this illness, and also against recurrent endogenous depression. It is only a few years since the Health Protection Branch in Ottawa reclassified certain brands of lithium from 'investigational drugs' to 'therapeutic antimanic agents' . There has been an appreciable increase in the consumption of lithium salts in the past five years and this is paralleled by a concomitant increase in the number and variety of reported side effects, both innocuous and transient, as well as the more serious lithium intoxication. In order to pursue an orderly, rational, and uninterrupted course in treating affective disorders using lithium, it is essential for the therapist to acquire a thorough knowledge of the associated somatic side effects, develop an acute awareness of impending lithium