Towards a Unified Understanding of Lithium Action in Basic Biology and its Significance for Applied Biology.

ABSTRACT: Lithium has literally been everywhere forever, since it is one of the three elements created in the Big Bang. Lithium concentration in rocks, soil, and fresh water is highly variable from place to place, and has varied widely in specific regions over evolutionary and geologic time. The biological effects of lithium are many and varied. Based on experiments in which animals are deprived of lithium, lithium is an essential nutrient. At the other extreme, at lithium ingestion sufficient to raise blood concentration significantly over 1 mM/, lithium is acutely toxic. There is no consensus regarding optimum levels of lithium intake for populations or individuals-with the single exception that lithium is a generally accepted first-line therapy for bipolar disorder, and specific dosage guidelines

SUBMITTER: Jakobsson E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5696506 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature