Posted by danf on November 3, 2000, at 13:12:43
In reply to Re: Article: Lithium increases brain volume ?, posted by SLS on November 3, 2000, at 12:18:23
This seems to be almost a miss the forest for the trees kind of thing.
I read the abstract, could not get the full text.
We know that Li works to stabilize mood lability. It has been used for a long time & it works & works well. We also know that Bipolar MD disorder is in general progressive if untreated.
We also know that there is an imbalance in neural regulation, of some type with BMDD, that Li corrects in at least some aspects.
we also know that Li does not do a lot for seizure control.
The logical extension of this is that the continued neural imbalance eventually causes some permanent changes in neural architecture. By prevention / correction of the imbalance, one would asume that the progressive permanent changes are blocked.
By following this model, one would assume that the protective features of Li are secondary & not primary.
We also would assume that there are changes in neural metabolic activity as a result of the changes in neural net activity.
Just finding altered metabolic activity does not help decide or prove whether the Li protective effect is primary or secondary.
So where does this leave us ? Given time & more research, the best fit theory will win out...
One bad result of our current system of grant supported research is that controversy gets money & results in published reports. Some times the reports are good, sometimes of little worth for the intended information. So we have to look at them all to see if they appear to fit with other known data, & judge critically.
The fact that Li is protective in some situations (BP MDD ), does not mean that it will automatically stimulate or promote healing of injured or damaged neurons under other circumstances.
poster:danf
thread:47998
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001102/msgs/48125.html