Hi Jeremy
Was advised to take Lithium on a couple of occasions. Once by a psychiatrist and once by a GP. Decided against it.
A friend, who is on Lithium, has recently been taken off Olanzapine because they have developed diabetes and the professionals think it is the Olanzapine that caused it.
I am no wiser than anyone else but to me the Lithium is just as dangerous as the other drug.
Am struggling at present not to become reliant on Lorazees. They are emergency supplies for me and I know that goes against the grain of the anti-meds view which I tend to err with. My only defense is that more often than not it is a case of surviving the day rather than looking at what constitutes a more balanced life.
Haven't taken one for 2 days...which for me is mega achievement as head is screwing big time.
Anyway enough of that. Am aware that psychiatric drugs can and do have horrendous side effects either short or long term and that there are some very fat cats getting fatter on other people's suffering.
Mandy
----- Original Message -----
From: bryce_j_j
To: SSRI-Crusaders%40yahoogroups.com">SSRI-Crusaders
yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2006 6:06 PM
Subject: [SSRI-Crusaders] Long-term lithium treatment causes serotonin receptor down-regulation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3494960&dopt=Abstract
Long-term lithium treatment causes serotonin receptor down-regulation
via serotonergic presynapses in rat brain.
Hotta I, Yamawaki S, Segawa T.
The effects of lithium treatment on serotonin (5-HT) receptors in rat
frontal cortex and hippocampus were investigated. Long-term lithium
treatment strongly blocked 5-hydroxytryptophan-induced head twitches,
while acute lithium administration by itself induced head twitches in
rats, and ketanserin blocked this acute lithium action. Long-term
administration of lithium decreased the number of not only 5-HT2
receptors in the frontal cortex but also 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors in
the hippocampus in rats. Decreases in 3H-5-HT binding to hippocampal
5-HT1 receptors and 3H-spiperone binding to frontal cortical 5-HT2
receptors, caused by chronic lithium treatment, were abolished by co-
administration of p-chlorophenylalanine, and were enhanced by co-
administration with methiothepin. The turnover of 5-HT in either
frontal cortex or hippocampus was facilitated by lithium, and co-
administered methiothepin enhanced this facilitation. These results
suggest that long-term lithium treatment causes the down-regulation
of postsynaptic 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors, in part probably through
its action on presynaptic nerve terminals.
Publication Types:
In Vitro
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 3494960 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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