Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Does lithium carbonate therapy for alcoholism deter relapse drinking?

D C Clark1, J Fawcett

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612.

Recent Developments in Alcoholism : an Official Publication of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the National Council on Alcoholism
|January 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary

Lithium therapy may help alcoholics stay abstinent and reduce rehospitalization. This study found lithium carbonate promotes abstinence and delays the first drink, independent of mood improvements.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Retrospective spatial analysis of cases of COVID-19 in a single military accommodation block corridor, RMAS, January-March 21.

BMJ military health·2022
Same author

Efficacy and Toxicity of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Early to Advanced Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma - Initial Experience From an Australian Liver Cancer Service.

Clinical oncology (Royal College of Radiologists (Great Britain))·2020
Same author

How can schistosome circulating antigen assays be best applied for diagnosing male genital schistosomiasis (MGS): an appraisal using exemplar MGS cases from a longitudinal cohort study among fishermen on the south shoreline of Lake Malawi.

Parasitology·2019
Same author

Recent advances in the therapeutic uses of chondroitinase ABC.

Experimental neurology·2019
Same author

Mortality from Listeria monocytogenes meningoencephalitis following escalation to alemtuzumab therapy for relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis and related disorders·2018
Same author

The role of macrophages in the development of biliary injury in a lipopolysaccharide-aggravated hepatic ischaemia-reperfusion model.

Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular basis of disease·2017

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Clinical Pharmacology
  • Addiction Medicine

Background:

  • Alcohol dependence is a major public health concern.
  • Effective pharmacological interventions for alcoholism are needed.
  • Lithium's potential role in treating alcohol dependence requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of lithium therapy in promoting alcohol abstinence.
  • To determine if lithium reduces depressive symptoms in alcohol-dependent patients.
  • To assess if lithium's effects on alcohol abstinence are linked to antidepressant actions.

Main Methods:

  • A double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 122 patients with alcohol dependence.
  • Survival analysis was used to track abstinence over 18 months.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Complete abstinence from alcohol served as the primary outcome measure.

    • Main Results:

    • Lithium carbonate significantly promoted alcohol abstinence and delayed the time to first drink.
    • Patients receiving lithium had lower rehospitalization rates for alcoholism.
    • Observed benefits were not associated with improvements in affective symptoms.

    Conclusions:

    • Lithium carbonate shows promise as an adjunct therapy for promoting abstinence in alcohol dependence.
    • The therapeutic effects of lithium in alcoholism do not appear to be mediated by antidepressant actions.
    • Further research is warranted to explore lithium's specific mechanisms in treating alcohol use disorder.