Retention and Distribution Patterns of Lithium, a Pharmacological Tool in Studying the Pathophysiology of Manic-Depressive Psychosis

Abstract

The authors review the evidence for their conclusion that acutely manic patients retain more lithium ion and distribute it differently in the total body water than do normothymic patients. The pattern of lithium ion retention and distribution was studied in depressed patients and found to more closely approximate that of the normothymic patients than that of the manic patients. There was suggestive evidence of a redistribution pattern upon recovery from depression which resembled but was smaller in magnitude than the redistribution pattern previously observed in manic patients.