The FDA banned the use of lithium until 1970. Dr. Cade may never have seen this article. Lithium was discovered in 1817. Lithium may be responsible for the reputed benefit of certain spring waters to patients with mental disease. Lithium continues to work well in mania treatment.
Mania is a component of manic depressive or bipolar disease.
Without lithium mania recurs in over half. Lithium reduces this recurrence to less than a quarter in a three-year follow up. It is safe to use if drug plasma levels are measured five days after any change in dosage. As noted above, sodium levels should be kept steady. The main problem is that when patients feel better they stop their medicine and mania or hypomania with grandiosity, flight of ideas, rapid sometimes incoherent speech, and sleep disturbance returns.