Posted by Blue Cheer1 on June 13, 2002, at 3:13:40
In reply to Re: Lithium as a stabilizer for resistant depression » Blue Cheer1, posted by Bob on June 13, 2002, at 1:20:39
> Lithium can also be depressogenic (Jonathan Himmelhoch, M.D.). > Blue
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> Does "depressogenic" mean it can cause depression?
Yes, at least the symptoms of depression. You can "Google" "depressogenic lithium" or "depressogenic drugs". For example, in bipolar disorder, when lithium or other mood stabilizers are given to someone who's manic, stabilization might be achieved at the risk of an "overshoot," or causing the patient to go beyond "euthymia" or even mood, and cause them to go "sub-baseline" or depressed. In bipolar disorder, you can even continue to cycle below baseline (cycle in a depression). Yet, in unipolar depression, I think lithium's more likely to just "work" or "not work" in augmenting ADs -- rather than cause depression. I heard Dr. Himmelhoch talk about lithium being depressogenic (besides antimanic, stabilizing and antidepressant) on an audiotape from the Third (?) International Conference on Bipolar Disorders. Don't let anyone ever tell you that lithium isn't a powerful drug.I hope this makes sense.
Blue
poster:Blue Cheer1
thread:109630
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020609/msgs/109670.html