[Effectiveness of lithium in the prophylaxis of affective disorders].
Lithium effectiveness in manic depressive illness is still controversial. Recent naturalistic trials on lithium effectiveness as a mood stabilizer offer poorer results than previous controlled studies. These previous studies have methodological deficiencies.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effectiveness of lithium treatment as a mood stabilizer under real clinical conditions.


METHODS
An intervention study in a case series of all patients treated at least for two years at two Affective Disorders ambulatory Units was conducted to evaluate the incidence of episodes by year, before and during lithium therapy.


RESULTS
152 patients were included. (91% were bipolar patients). Most of them were in monotherapy. The average time of illness before lithium treatment was 13 years, and cases were followed up a media of 8 years. Only 33% of the sample had no relapses during lithium therapy. An average of 1.38 (+/- 2.89) episodes/person year was estimated previous to lithium therapy and was decreased to 0.35 (+/- 0.47) phases/person year during lithium therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the total absence of relapses is not attained in most of the patients, our results support the lithium effectiveness to reduce the relapses in bipolar patients.
Ezquiaga
E
E
Servicio de Psiquiatría, Hospital Universitario La Princesa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
García-López
A
A
Nieves
P
P
Rodríguez-Salvanés
F
F
D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008094:Lithium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018692:Antimanic Agents; D008094:Lithium