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Details

Stereochemistry ACHIRAL
Molecular Formula Li
Molecular Weight 6.941
Optical Activity NONE
Defined Stereocenters 0 / 0
E/Z Centers 0
Charge 1

SHOW SMILES / InChI
Structure of LITHIUM CATION

SMILES

[Li+]

InChI

InChIKey=HBBGRARXTFLTSG-UHFFFAOYSA-N
InChI=1S/Li/q+1

HIDE SMILES / InChI

Description
Curator's Comment: Description was created based on several sources, including https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19538681 | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23371914 | http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/3/lithium

Lithium is an alkali metal widely used in industry. Lithium salts are indicated in the treatment of manic episodes of Bipolar Disorder. The use of lithium in psychiatry goes back to the mid-19th century. Early work, however, was soon forgotten, and John Cade is credited with reintroducing lithium to psychiatry for mania in 1949. Mogens Schou undertook a randomly controlled trial for mania in 1954, and in the course of that study became curious about lithium as a prophylactic for depressive illness. In 1970, the United States became the 50th country to admit lithium to the marketplace. The specific mechanisms by which lithium exerts its mood-stabilizing effects are not well understood. Lithium appears to preserve or increase the volume of brain structures involved in emotional regulation such as the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala, possibly reflecting its neuroprotective effects. At a neuronal level, lithium reduces excitatory (dopamine and glutamate) but increases inhibitory (GABA) neurotransmission; however, these broad effects are underpinned by complex neurotransmitter systems that strive to achieve homeostasis by way of compensatory changes. For example, at an intracellular and molecular level, lithium targets second-messenger systems that further modulate neurotransmission. For instance, the effects of lithium on the adenyl cyclase and phospho-inositide pathways, as well as protein kinase C, may serve to dampen excessive excitatory neurotransmission. In addition to these many putative mechanisms, it has also been proposed that the neuroprotective effects of lithium are key to its therapeutic actions. In this regard, lithium has been shown to reduce the oxidative stress that occurs with multiple episodes of mania and depression. Further, it increases protective proteins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and B-cell lymphoma 2, and reduces apoptotic processes through inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3 and autophagy.

Originator

Curator's Comment: The first lithium mineral petalite, LiAlSi4O10, was discovered on the Swedish island of Utö by the Brazilian, Jozé Bonifácio de Andralda e Silva in the 1790s. It was observed to give an intense crimson flame when thrown onto a fire. In 1817, Johan August Arfvedson of Stockholm analysed it and deduced it contained a previously unknown metal, which he called lithium. He realised this was a new alkali metal and a lighter version of sodium. However, unlike sodium he was not able to separate it by electrolysis. In 1821 William Brande obtained a tiny amount this way but not enough on which to make measurements. It was not until 1855 that the German chemist Robert Bunsen and the British chemist Augustus Matthiessen obtained it in bulk by the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride.

Approval Year

Targets

Targets

Primary TargetPharmacologyConditionPotency
6.53 µM [IC50]
2.0 mM [Ki]
Target ID: O95861
Gene ID: 10380.0
Gene Symbol: BPNT1
Target Organism: Homo sapiens (Human)
0.3 mM [IC50]
Conditions

Conditions

ConditionModalityTargetsHighest PhaseProduct
Primary
LITHIUM CARBONATE

Approved Use

Lithium is indicated in the treatment of manic episodes of Bipolar Disorder.

Launch Date

1965
PubMed

PubMed

TitleDatePubMed
[Studies of lithium-induced tremor by means of different measurement methods].
1975
Renal failure associated with acetazolamide therapy for glaucoma.
1975 Apr
Sinoatrial block during lithium treatment.
1975 Aug
The renal pathology in a case of lithium-induced diabetes insipidus.
1975 Jun
[Side-effects of lithium therapy].
1975 Mar
Treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmias resulting from amitriptyline toxicity in dogs.
1984 Nov
Urothelial injury to the rabbit bladder from various alkaline and acidic solutions used to dissolve kidney stones.
1986 Jul
Effect of calcium chloride and 4-aminopyridine therapy on desipramine toxicity in rats.
1996
Pathophysiology and treatment of cocaine toxicity: implications for the heart and cardiovascular system.
1996 Dec
Metabolic alkalosis and myoclonus from antacid ingestion.
1996 Jun
Suppression of herpes simplex virus infections with oral lithium carbonate--a possible antiviral activity.
1996 Nov-Dec
Therapy of Sjögren's syndrome. New aspects and future directions.
1998 Feb
Sodium bicarbonate treatment reduces renal injury, renal production of transforming growth factor-beta, and urinary transforming growth factor-beta excretion in rats with doxorubicin-induced nephropathy.
1999 Aug
Correlation between hypermetabolism and neuronal damage during status epilepticus induced by lithium and pilocarpine in immature and adult rats.
1999 Feb
Effect of different lithium priming schedule on pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in rats.
1999 Jan-Feb
Somnambulistic-like behaviour in patients attending a lithium clinic.
1999 May
Optimizing lithium treatment.
2000
A case of lithium-induced asterixis.
2000 Apr
Hypercalcemia, arrhythmia, and mood stabilizers.
2000 Apr
Olanzapine-induced urinary incontinence: treatment with ephedrine.
2000 Aug
[Hyperthyroidism and hypercalcemia associated with lithium treatment].
2000 Jan
Visual and auditory hallucinations with the association of bupropion and valproate.
2000 Mar
beta-amyloid peptide-induced death of PC 12 cells and cerebellar granule cell neurons is inhibited by long-term lithium treatment.
2000 Mar 31
Influence of chronic barbiturate administration on sleep apnea after hypersomnia presentation: case study.
2000 Sep
The effects of sodium bicarbonate on thioridazine-induced cardiac dysfunction in the isolated perfused rat heart.
2001 Apr
Changes in quantitatively assessed tremor during treatment of major depression with lithium augmented by paroxetine or amitriptyline.
2001 Apr
Ménière's disease in childhood.
2001 Dec 1
Treatment of bipolar depression with twice-weekly fluoxetine: management of antidepressant-induced mania.
2001 Jan
[Nephrotic syndrome and lithium therapy].
2001 May 26
Renal tubular peptide catabolism in chronic vascular rejection.
2001 May-Jul
[A case of atropine-resistant bradycardia in a patient on long-term lithium medication].
2001 Nov
Aborted sudden death, transient Brugada pattern, and wide QRS dysrrhythmias after massive cocaine ingestion.
2001 Oct
Mild to severe lithium-induced nephropathy models and urine N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase in rats.
2001 Oct
Lithium-induced tremor treated with vitamin B6: a preliminary case series.
2002
Lithium-induced nephrotic syndrome in a young pediatric patient.
2002 Apr
Physostigmine, sodium bicarbonate, or hypertonic saline to treat diphenhydramine toxicity.
2002 Feb
Connection between lithium and muscular incoordination.
2002 Feb
Intracerebroventricular antisense to inositol monophosphatase-1 reduces enzyme activity but does not affect Li-sensitive behavior.
2002 Jan
Aminophylline aggravates long-term morphological and cognitive damages in status epilepticus in immature rats.
2002 Mar 22
Hydroethidine detection of superoxide production during the lithium-pilocarpine model of status epilepticus.
2002 May
The prevention of pain from injection of rocuronium by magnesium sulphate, lignocaine, sodium bicarbonate and alfentanil.
2003 Jun
Hyper-alkalinization without hyper-hydration for the prevention of high-dose methotrexate acute nephrotoxicity in patients with osteosarcoma.
2010 Nov
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the ischemic brain under lithium treatment. Link to mitochondrial disorders under stroke.
2015 Jul 25
Patents

Sample Use Guides

Optimal patient response to Lithium Carbonate usually can be established and maintained with 600 mg t.i.d. Optimal patient response to Lithium Oral Solution usually can be established and maintained with 10 mL (2 full teaspoons) (16 mEq of lithium) t.i.d. Such doses will normally produce an effective serum lithium level ranging between 1.0 and 1.5 mEq/l. Dosage must be individualized according to serum levels and clinical response. Regular monitoring of the patient’s clinical state and of serum lithium levels is necessary. Serum levels should be determined twice per week during the acute phase, and until the serum level and clinical condition of the patient have been stabilized.
Route of Administration: Oral
Although lithium at a high concentration (10 mM) activated β-catenin in different types of neurons, β-catenin shifted to the nucleus at a therapeutically relevant concentration (1 mM) only in thalamic neurons, both in vivo and in vitro.
Name Type Language
LITHIUM CATION
Common Name English
LITHIUM ION
Preferred Name English
LITHIUM, ION (LI1+)
Common Name English
Classification Tree Code System Code
WHO-ATC N05AN01
Created by admin on Mon Mar 31 18:14:39 GMT 2025 , Edited by admin on Mon Mar 31 18:14:39 GMT 2025
NCI_THESAURUS C597
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NDF-RT N0000175751
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DSLD 499 (Number of products:145)
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Code System Code Type Description
EPA CompTox
DTXSID10169612
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PRIMARY
WIKIPEDIA
Lithium (medication)
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SMS_ID
300000046938
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DAILYMED
8H8Z5UER66
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PRIMARY
RXCUI
1546265
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PRIMARY RxNorm
CHEBI
49713
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PRIMARY
NCI_THESAURUS
C69075
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PRIMARY
FDA UNII
8H8Z5UER66
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PRIMARY
IUPHAR
5212
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PRIMARY
PUBCHEM
28486
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PRIMARY
CAS
17341-24-1
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DRUG BANK
DB01356
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