l'Information Psychiatrique. Volume 83, Number 9, 781-6, novembre 2007, Psychopharmacovigilance

Résumé   Article gratuit

Author(s) : Marc Louis Bourgeois

Summary : Lithium and suicide: the preventive effect in bipolar disorders.Suicide is the most dramatic complication in the course of bipolar disorders. Up to 15% of bipolar patients are at risk of suicidal death, if not receving a correct treatment by mood stabilizers. Several long term studies of cohort of patients confirm that receiving regular lithium treatment for many years reduce considerably the suicidal risk. It could also reduce the risk for tardive dementia. A direct anti-suicidal effect could explain this lithium effect as fare as the other mood stabilizer treatments do not have a similar effect. This article review the evidence of this lithium preventive property.

Keywords : suicide, bipolar disorders, lithium, prevention