Neuroprotection against apoptosis: what has it got to do with lithium, a mood stabilizing drug

摘要

Lithium was introduced into psychiatry half a century ago and remains as a preferred treatment for acute mania and the preferred prophylactic therapy for manic-depressive illness. Despite lithium’s standing as one of the most important drugs for neuropsychiatric disorders, the therapeutic mechanisms of this monovalent cation remain to be defined. Recent research suggests that multiple sites, rather than a single target, contribute to lithium’s mood stabilizing effects. In searching for novel actions of this drug, we found that lithium has robust neuroprotective effects, particularly against excitotoxicity.We found that lithium treatment robustly protects cultured CNS neurons from glutamate-