title: Lithium in the living organism. Is an integrated hypothesis feasible?
abstract: 1. The effects of lithium on electrolyte metabolism can be demonstrated in man in acute as well as in long-term lithium treatment. No other lithium effects have been reproducible to a similar extent. 2. It seems feasible to integrate these lithium effects with effects on biogenic amines to form an integral hypothesis for lithium action in manic-melancholic man. 3. The results are consistent with one of the following two hypotheses: a) that lithium acts by membrane stabilization and/or b) that lithium acts by interplay with magnesium on one or more enzymes. 4. The above findings and hypotheses direct our attention to membrane dysfunction as the basic defect in manic-melancholic states. This may find support in our preliminary findings of special HL-A profiles in unipolar and bipolar manic-melancholic patients. 5. A four-type-pump-defect model to account for the various clinical types of affective disorders is proposed.
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000276:immunology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000097:blood; D008954:Models, Biological; D010710:Phosphates / Q000097:blood; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D010710:Phosphates; D008094:Lithium; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium