Shown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by blueberry on June 20, 2006, at 17:05:30
Lithium, one of the few I haven't tried for unipolar depression.
How does it work? What mechanisms?
Side effects? I know about the thirst and frequent urination and stuff. But what I am wondering is, is it basically stimulative or does it cause lethargy? Does it feel sort of like an ssri? Can it work on anxiety, or does it create anxiety?
Posted by bipolarspectrum on June 20, 2006, at 18:42:02
In reply to Lithium mechanism and side effects?, posted by blueberry on June 20, 2006, at 17:05:30
Hey,
I took a high level pharmacology course a couple years ago in undergrad and apparently one theory is that it lithium affects the production and transduction of phosphoinositide (sp)... I cant remember the exact mechanism but I know that its far from ellucidated...
But I believe that is one believed mechanism for bipolar.. for unipolar, i believe lithium is thought to affect serotonin via 5ht1a receptor... once again, far from verified..I;ve been on lithium for bipolar at a high dose, side effects included:
-weird eye twitching.. when trying to focus on something close my eyes would spasm
-somewhat lethargic for me..
=definately a cognitive duller.. this is where dose tweaking is important i think
-for me, it never really influenced my anxiety and from the research ive read, its not an anxiolytic...
-for me it was not an ssri whatsoever.. different experiencegood luck!
bps
> Lithium, one of the few I haven't tried for unipolar depression.
>
> How does it work? What mechanisms?
>
> Side effects? I know about the thirst and frequent urination and stuff. But what I am wondering is, is it basically stimulative or does it cause lethargy? Does it feel sort of like an ssri? Can it work on anxiety, or does it create anxiety?
Posted by linkadge on June 20, 2006, at 18:59:15
In reply to Re: Lithium mechanism and side effects?, posted by bipolarspectrum on June 20, 2006, at 18:42:02
There are many different mechanisms attributed to lithium. As bipolarspectrum pointed out, it affects the metabolism of inositol.
Some of the others are,
PKC inhibition,
GSK-3b decrease,
BDNF, NGF increase,
PIP2 modulation,
archonidic acid modulation,
sodium channel modulation,
5-ht1b autoreceptor antagonism,
glutamate stabilization (reuptake stabilization)
BCL-2 increase (neuroprotective protein)
MAP kinase modulationThe list goes on. Researchers believe certain targets, are more important to the theraputic action than others.
Linkadge
Posted by bipolarspectrum on June 20, 2006, at 21:11:47
In reply to Re: Lithium mechanism and side effects?, posted by linkadge on June 20, 2006, at 18:59:15
lol,
I thought after i sent my first post that Link would be a great guy to ask!
bps
Posted by Phillipa on June 20, 2006, at 22:29:17
In reply to Re: Lithium mechanism and side effects?, posted by bipolarspectrum on June 20, 2006, at 21:11:47
A complicated guy. Love Phillipa
This is the end of the thread.
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