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Lithium
Lithium is a naturally occuring chemical element that is found throughout the world. It is a metal much like sodium, and exists in the form of a salt. It has a number of industrial applications as well as medical ones.
Lithium has been used to treat various illnesses since the late 19th Century, though it is only in recent decades that it has been scientifically investigated. It is particularly useful in reducing number of episodes of illness in manic depression (bipolar disorder).
When prescibed in the correct doses for a short period of time, lithium is unlikely to cause significant side effects. Occasionally people experience mild effects such as feeling sickly, thirsty, tired or a little 'slowed down'. These wear off after stopping treatment.
A great deal of research is being performed to try and understand how this drug works. One of the most important questions to answer is how much lithium actually enters the brain during a course of treatment. This has been difficult to answer, but recent advances in technology have allowed us to develop a brain scan that directly assesses lithium concentration. We are applying this to the study of volunteers in the first instance.
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