A Brief History on the use of Lithium

Lithium was discovered by Johan Arfvedson in 1817 in Stockholm, Sweden. About 40 years later, in 1859, Sir Alfred Baring Garrod discovered that one formed a great deal of uric acid crystals in gout. In his book The Nature and Treatment of Gout and Rheumatic Gout he considered the use of lithium salts as making the uric acid crystals go into solution. 

It is at that time that homeopaths, led by Constantine Hering, began using lithium in earnest, primarily for the treatment of arthritic complaints, and while the specific phenotype was not well described, the literature indicated lithium be used in more melancholic people. 

In 1871, William Hammond, professor of Diseases of the Mind and Nervous System at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York, became the first physician to prescribe lithium for mania: “Latterly I have used the bromide of lithium in cases of acute mania, and have more reason to be satisfied with it than with any other medicine calculated to diminish the amount of blood in the cerebral vessels, and to calm any nervous excitement that may be present.” 

From then on, for several decades, lithium was seen as a panacea for arthritis and other conditions. Hot springs became popular once more in Europe and the United States. Often, lithium was advertised as being in higher concentrations than present, publicizing lithiated hot springs as the natural curative agent for many complaints.

Over time, lithium springs led to lithium tablets. In 1929, lithium was added to other powders in a drink called "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda", later named “7 Up Lithiated Lemon Soda,” and then finally shortened to “7-Up.” It may sound odd but 7-Up originally had lithium, just as Coca-Cola had cocaine and caffeine in it, which is where the Coca (coca leaves)-Cola (caffeine from the kola nuts) name originated.   

Now we take an odd turn in history. As we began to understand hypertension better, we began to understand the role that salt has in increasing blood pressure. Since sodium and lithium appear in the same column on the periodic table, physicians thought, why not replace the regular ‘salt’ that people ate, with lithium salt, as a way to lower blood pressure. This led to many lithium salts being developed, causing toxic reaction. People died. Thankfully, FDA stepped in in 1949 and 1950 to ban the sale of lithium salts.

Oddly, once more, in the same year, 1949, John Cade, in Australia, revived the use of lithium in psychiatric cases, by publishing a paper on its use in 10 subjects with mania, where all did surprisingly well. That said, the study was flawed, people got sick from high doses of the drug. Cade stopped studying lithium. Lithium became and remained popular in Europe and finally in 1974, lithium was approved for the prevention of recurrent mania. The initial doses Cade proposed are more or less the doses still used, though a clearer therapeutic range is understood, and monitoring of dosage levels is important and routine. Oddly, though, Cade did not conduct proper dose escalating studies, did not look to see if lower doses might be advantageous. And this is, more or less where we find ourselves in 2018. Lithium, as lithium carbonate, is a drug, to be used to treat and prevent recurrences of manic episodes in bipolar depression.

Only now is there work being done looking at the use of lithium in other conditions, and at a dosage 100th to 1,000th of the dose utilized for psychiatric complaints. In a way, we are returning to conditions that lithium was originally used for, at extremely low doses just as before. Click here to read about current studies and novel potential uses of lithium. None of the novel uses are approved or marketed for treatments or ailments at this time. 

Lithium is also sold, over the counter, in the USA, as a dietary supplement, most often in the form of Lithium orotate, which you can read about here. 

To review,  the lithium that is FDA approved to be sold for any ailment or condition or prevention is lithium carbonate, in a variety of forms, and as a prescription item. From the FDA website, we have the below description of INDICATIONS AND USAGE of lithium carbonate from one company:

"Lithium is indicated in the treatment of manic episodes of Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder, Manic (DSM-III) is equivalent to Manic Depressive illness, Manic, in the older DSM-II terminology. Lithium is also indicated as a maintenance treatment for individuals with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. Maintenance therapy reduces the frequency of manic episodes and diminishes the intensity of those episodes which may occur.

Typical symptoms of mania include pressure of speech, motor hyperactivity, reduced need for sleep, flight of ideas, grandiosity, elation, poor judgment, aggressiveness, and possibly hostility. When given to a patient experiencing a manic episode, lithium may produce a normalization of symptomatology within 1 to 3 weeks." 

Lithia Works™, and Lithia Basic™ use lithium orotate, and is unrelated with the above drug. Lithium orotate is a nonprescription, non-FDA approved form of lithium favored as an over the counter product sold as a supplement at many health food stores. More on the history of Lithium orotate here.