Lithium treatment during alcoholic withdrawal

Abstract

The efficacy of lithium carbonate was studied in 18 chronic alcoholic male patients in withdrawal. In mild alcoholic withdrawal, oral lithium carbonate, 0.3 gm every 8 hr, diminishes subjective symptoms of withdrawal and normalizes performance on a motor tracking task. Patients who start lithium while drinking ethanol improve most probably because it takes longer than 3 days for lithium concentrations in the blood to plateau. Lithium does not importantly alter patterns of catecholamine excretion, blood pressures, heart rate, serum cyclic-adenosine monophosphate (AMP), serum dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), sleep pattern, or tremor amplitude during withdrawal.