Re: Long-term lithium treatment causes serotonin receptor down-regulation

[Guest guest]

Hi

Was advised to take Lithium on a couple of occasions. Once by a psychiatrist and

once by a GP. Decided against it.

A friend, who is on Lithium, has recently been taken off Olanzapine because they

have developed diabetes and the professionals think it is the Olanzapine that

caused it.

I am no wiser than anyone else but to me the Lithium is just as dangerous as the

other drug.

Am struggling at present not to become reliant on Lorazees. They are emergency

supplies for me and I know that goes against the grain of the anti-meds view

which I tend to err with. My only defense is that more often than not it is a

case of surviving the day rather than looking at what constitutes a more

balanced life.

Haven't taken one for 2 days...which for me is mega achievement as head is

screwing big time.

Anyway enough of that. Am aware that psychiatric drugs can and do have

horrendous side effects either short or long term and that there are some very

fat cats getting fatter on other people's suffering.

Mandy

Long-term lithium treatment causes serotonin

receptor down-regulation

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=3494960 & dopt=Abstract

Long-term lithium treatment causes serotonin receptor down-regulation

via serotonergic presynapses in rat brain.

Hotta I, Yamawaki S, Segawa T.

The effects of lithium treatment on serotonin (5-HT) receptors in rat

frontal cortex and hippocampus were investigated. Long-term lithium

treatment strongly blocked 5-hydroxytryptophan-induced head twitches,

while acute lithium administration by itself induced head twitches in

rats, and ketanserin blocked this acute lithium action. Long-term

administration of lithium decreased the number of not only 5-HT2

receptors in the frontal cortex but also 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors in

the hippocampus in rats. Decreases in 3H-5-HT binding to hippocampal

5-HT1 receptors and 3H-spiperone binding to frontal cortical 5-HT2

receptors, caused by chronic lithium treatment, were abolished by co-

administration of p-chlorophenylalanine, and were enhanced by co-

administration with methiothepin. The turnover of 5-HT in either

frontal cortex or hippocampus was facilitated by lithium, and co-

administered methiothepin enhanced this facilitation. These results

suggest that long-term lithium treatment causes the down-regulation

of postsynaptic 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors, in part probably through

its action on presynaptic nerve terminals.

Publication Types:

In Vitro

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 3494960 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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