[Development of progeny after antenatal exposure to lithium oxybutyrate]

Experiments on rats were made to study the effect of lithium hydroxybutyrate and to compare it with lithium carbonate effect on the development of the progeny after antenatal exposure to the drugs. It was established that the lithium salts under study did not produce any conclusive effect on the postnatal development of young rats. The activating component was discovered to be predominant in the action of lithium hydroxybutyrate, whereas the action of lithium carbonate was marked by the inhibitory component. As regards the effect on the development of the progeny, lithium hydroxybutyrate was less hazardous than lithium carbonate.