Am J Psychiatry 1984; 141:1517-1521
Copyright © 1984 by American Psychiatric Association
Lithium antagonizes ethanol intoxication in alcoholics
LL Judd and LY Huey
Thirty-five detoxified alcoholics given lithium in a placebo- controlled,
double-blind study reported less intoxication, a decrease in the desire to
continue drinking, and less cognitive dysfunction when challenged by
standardized doses of ethanol. Lithium also appeared to antagonize the
ethanol-induced decrement in cognitive and perceptual motor performance. No
differential lithium effect was noted when alcoholics were divided by
diagnoses of affective disorder versus no affective disorder. The authors
suggest that, in addition to mood normalization, lithium's capacity to
directly affect ethanol intoxication may help explain its potential
therapeutic efficacy in alcoholism, providing further confirmatory evidence
that lithium may be useful in the treatment of alcoholism.
