OVERVIEW

PRODUCT INFORMATION

CHEMICAL FORMULA AND STRUCTURE

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DRUG	CAS REGISTRY NUMBER	MOLECULAR FORMULA	STRUCTURE
Lithium Carbonate	554-13-2	C-H2-O3.2Li

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

References updated: 04 June 2019

• Zimmerman HJ. Psychotropic and anticonvulsant agents. In, Zimmerman HJ. Hepatotoxicity: the adverse effects of drugs and other chemicals on the liver. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1999, pp. 483-516.

  (Expert review of hepatotoxicity of psychiatric medications published in 1999; lithium is not discussed).
• Meyer JM. Pharmacotherapy of psychosis and mania. In, Brunton LL, Hilal-Dandan R, Knollman BC, eds. Goodman & Gilman’s the pharmacological basis of therapeutics. 13th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2018, pp. 279-302.

  (Textbook of pharmacology and therapeutics).
• McKnelly WV Jr, Tupin JP, Dunn M. Lithium in hazardous circumstances with one case of lithium toxicity. Compr Psychiatry 1970; 11: 279-86. [PubMed: 5443145]

  (4 cases of use of lithium in patients with other significant conditions; one patient with heart failure developed jaundice and hepatomegaly attributed to passive congestion rather than lithium).
• Warick LH. Lithium poisoning. Report of a case with neurologic, cardiac and hepatic sequelae. West J Med 1979; 130: 259-63. [PMC free article: PMC1238593] [PubMed: 425510]

  (36 year old man on high doses of lithium for 10 days developed drowsiness, ataxia, nausea and vomiting with high lithium levels, ALT rising to 911 U/L, Alk P to 178 U/L, normal bilirubin; no follow up on resolution).
• Cohen LS, Cohen DE. Lithium-induced hyperbilirubinemia in an adolescent. J Clin Psychopharmacol 1991; 11: 274-5. [PubMed: 1918429]

  (17 year old man developed bilirubin elevations after taking lithium for 12 days [rising from 1.4 at baseline to 3.3 mg/dL], while all other tests were normal; authors suspected Gilbert syndrome exacerbated by lithium).
• Kosson H, Chou JC-Y. Abnormal liver function tests associated with lithium treatment. J Clin Psychopharmacol 1992; 12: 216-7. [PubMed: 1629393]

  (26 year old man developed mild increases in ALT levels [peak 105 U/L] after 2 months of lithium treatment which decreased on stopping and increased again on restarting on two occasions [from 11 to 56 U/L and 19 to 56 U/L]; no symptoms and no mention of bilirubin elevations or weight gain).
• Smith LA, Cornelius V, Warnock A, Tacchi MJ, Taylor D. Pharmacological interventions for acute bipolar mania: a systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials. Bipolar Disorders 2007; 9: 551-60. [PubMed: 17845269]

  (Review of 13 short term controlled trials with 3089 patients, weight gain with olanzapine and risperidone, no mention of hepatic adverse events).
• Smith LA, Cornelius V, Warnock A, Bell A, Young AH. Effectiveness of mood stabilizers and antipsychotics in the maintenance phase of bipolar disorder: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Bipolar Disord 2007; 9: 394-412. [PubMed: 17547586]

  (Review of 14 long term controlled trials of mood stabilizing agents including lithium with 2526 patients, did not evaluate adverse events).
• Torrent C, Amann B, Sanchez-Moreno J, Colom F, Feinares M, Comes M, Rosa AR, et al. Weight gain in bipolar disorder: pharmacological treatment as a contributing factor. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2008; 118: 4-18. [PubMed: 18498432]

  (Review of frequency of weight gain in patients treated for bipolar disorders, most weight gain occurred with clozapine and olanzapine, but some weight gain also with quetiapine, risperidone, lithium, valproate and gabapentin, but not with carbamazepine or lamotrigine).
• Young W. Review of lithium effects on brain and blood. Cell Transplant 2009; 18: 951-75. [PubMed: 19523343]

  (Review of the mechanism of action of lithium, its clinical uses and toxicity; states that prolonged exposure to high doses of lithium [above 2 mM] can cause liver injury).
• McKnight RF, Adida M, Budge K, Stockton S, Goodwin GM, Geddes JR. Lithium toxicity profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet 2012; 379 (9817): 721-8. [PubMed: 22265699]

  (A systematic review of the literature on litium toxicity focusing upon renal thyroid and parathyroid function, hair and skin disorders, weight gain and teratogenicity; no mention of hepatic side effects).
• Drugs for psychiatric disorders. Treat Guidel Med Lett 2013; 11 (130): 53-64. [PubMed: 23715100]

  (Concise review of the safety and efficacy of drugs for psychiatric disorders states that: "Lithium is generally the drug of choice for maintenace treatment of bipolar disorder"; no mention of hepatic adverse events).
• Drugs for bipolar disorder. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2016; 58 (1501): 103-6. [PubMed: 27508348]

  (Concise review of the safety and efficacy of drugs for bipolar disorder; states that "lithium remains the drug of choice for maintenance treatment of bipolar disoder"; no mention of hepatic adverse events).