Chemistry [Group 9] 1st Year 2nd Semester Kursk State Medical university

1. Keshav Kumar Panwar [Group 9]
1st Year 2nd Semester
Kursk State Medical university
{Teacher-Yampolsky leonid milkhailovich}
Lithium
…

2. Lithium in human body
 Lithium is a naturally occurring alkali metal, which living
organisms ingest from dietary sources and which is also present
in trace amounts in the human body.

3. Lithium is a type of medicine known as a mood stabiliser. It's used to treat
mood disorders such as: mania (feeling highly excited, overactive or distracted)
hypo-mania (similar to mania, but less severe)
Lithium is also used to treat and prevent episodes of bipolar disorder (manic-
depressive disorder; a disease that causes episodes of depression, episodes of mania,
and other abnormal moods).
Lithium as a antidepressant

4.  The effects of lithium carbonate on sleep patterns have been
investigated both acutely in normal and depressed subjects
and chronically in depressed subjects
 High concentrations of lithium could cause severe damage
to human including the nervous system, kidney (including sodium-
losing nephritis and nephrotic syndrome) and endocrine system
(including hypothyroidism).
 Lithium stimulates or reduced plant growth depending on its
concentration. Lithium disrupts numerous metabolic processes
such as photosynthesis, DNAbiosynthesis and enzyme activation
in plants.
Medical uses of lithium

5. Research on the lithium
 Studies examining the effect of lithium ions on the synthesis and metabolism of
neurotransmitters have, thus far, yielded inconsistent results, failing to shed any light on the
mechanism of action of lithium in vivo.
 Lithium ions prevent the development of functional super sensitivity to dopamine and
acetylcholine receptor stimulation, most likely by influencing second messenger systems.
Lithium ions increase basal cAMP levels and inhibit the neurotransmitter-stimulated
accumulation of cAMP in the brain and other tissues.
 The inhibitory effects of chronic lithium treatment on the PI system have also been
demonstrated in humans. Peripheral cells from manic-depressive patients show increased
hormonal sensitivity in the phosphoinositide (PI) system. Thus, it appears that lithium ions
might compensate for the hyperactivity of the PI system which is associated with illness in
these patients.

6. Reference:-
 Indian Journal of Advances in Chemical Science
 Lithium (medication) –Wikipedia
 The New News about Lithium: An Underutilized Treatment in the United
States(nih.gov)