Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:68-70
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Renal tubular function in patients on long-term lithium therapy
GW Viol, P Grof and L Daigle
Department of Medicine, St. Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton, Ont., Canada.
The authors conducted a study in which 10 patients with recurrent affective
disorders who responded completely to long-term lithium therapy but who
were otherwise unselected were tested for renal tubular concentrating and
acidification ability. Despite frequent symptoms of thirst, polyuria, and
nocturia, all patients were able to concentrate urine normally and all
showed normal renal tubular acidification ability. A significant
correlation was found between erythrocyte lithium concentration and maximum
urinary osmolality.
