Lithium as an adjunct in the treatment of major depression.
This paper reports a double-blind cross-over study (1) to investigate the efficacy of lithium carbonate to produce rapid relief of major depression in patients who were previously unresponsive to at least 4 weeks of antidepressant therapy; (2) to study the effect of acute lithium administration on antidepressant blood levels. In contrast to other studies, lithium was found to be no more effective than placebo. The effect of lithium adjunct on antidepressant levels was not significant.
Browne
M
M
Affective Disorders Clinic, Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ontario, Canada.
Lapierre
Y D
YD
Hrdina
P D
PD
Horn
E
E
D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D016651:Lithium Carbonate; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D016651:Lithium Carbonate; D008094:Lithium