Loading...
Lithium has long been used in psychiatric disorders, especially bipolar disorder, despite the absence of a satisfactory understanding of its mechanism. Prior volumetric MRI studies have found regional differences in gray matter volumes in bipolar patients (Bipolar Disord 2006; 8:65). Bearden and colleagues examined regional differences in gray matter density on MRI in 28 patients with bipolar disease — 20 of whom had been taking lithium for at least 2 weeks — and 28 healthy controls. The bipolar patients treated with lithium had higher cortical gray matter density than the controls, particularly in bilateral cingulate and paralimbic cortex. Patients not receiving lithium had no increased density relative to controls.
As noted in an accompany…