title: [Bipolar affective disorders and role of intraneuronal calcium. Therapeutic effects of the treatment with lithium salts and/or calcium antagonist in patients with rapid polar inversion].
abstract: Treatment with lithium salts produces improvements in bipolar affective disorders. Up to date, the relationship between neurochemical and behavioural effects of lithium and its actions on intraneuronal free calcium ions is not well known. Some calcium antagonist drugs resulted active in the treatment of bipolar affective syndromes, with therapeutic effects similar to lithium salts. Some studies suggest that also lithium salts act as calcium antagonist at intraneuronal level. In this preliminary open study the activity of nimodipine, a selective neuronal calcium antagonist drug, was evaluated alone and in association with lithium salts in the treatment of rapid cycling bipolar manic-depressive illness. During three periods of 6 months 12 rapid cycling patients were treated with lithium salts, lithium salts plus nimodipine 30 mg x 3/day, nimodipine 30 mg x 3/day. The association of lithium with nimodipine resulted more effective than lithium alone or nimodipine alone in the reduction of episodes of affective disorder. These results suggest a probable sinergic activity of both treatments. Further studies will be necessary to confirm the mechanism of action, perhaps calcium antagonism, at the basis of therapeutic effects of both treatments. The results seem to confirm the hypothesis that a calcium-ionic disorders play a role in the pathogenesis of bipolar affective disorders.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Salute Mentale, USL FG/7, Troia, Foggia.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Manna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009553:Nimodipine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012492:Salts / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D012492:Salts; D009553:Nimodipine; D008094:Lithium; D002118:Calcium
vernacular_title: Disturbi affettivi bipolari e ruolo del calcio intraneuronale. Effetti terapeutici del trattamento con sali di litio e/o calcio antagonista in pazienti con rapida inversione di polarità.