[Lithium therapy in manic depressive diseases in old age]

It is given a report about experiences with a maintenance lithium therapy in case of 57 patients with affective psychosis in the older age and about the peculiarities, that have to be taken a note of near by. In regarding the complications in therapy and course of these disorders and the good prophylactic effect of lithium the necessity of the prophylactic application of this psychopharmacological agent also to geropsychiatric patients is established. There are methods shown, reducing the risk of treatment in an acceptable minimum and the possibility of using lithium to a large group of affective psychosis in the older age, too.