Lithium
LithobidPubChem CID 11125 · 3D model
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Changes how nerve cells handle sodium and certain brain signaling chemicals, calming the overactive brain activity behind manic episodes, though even after decades of use doctors still don't fully understand its exact mechanism.
How it works
Lithium is thought to work by changing how nerve cells handle sodium and certain brain chemicals called catecholamines, which seems to calm the overactive brain activity behind manic episodes — but even after decades of use, doctors still don't know its exact mechanism. What is well understood is that the dose that helps is dangerously close to the dose that can hurt: too much lithium in your blood can be toxic, so anyone taking it needs regular blood tests to make sure their level stays in a safe range.
What it’s used for
Lithium is prescribed to treat manic episodes in bipolar disorder and, on an ongoing basis, to help prevent future manic episodes or reduce how severe they are. It carries a boxed warning — the FDA's strongest safety warning — because the amount that helps is dangerously close to the amount that can cause toxicity, so anyone taking it needs regular blood tests to check their lithium level.
- Mechanism
- Mood stabilizer, mechanism of antimanic action not fully established
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- CNS / Psychiatric