Lithium-associated thyrotoxicosis

Abstract

Primary hypothyroidism developed in a 57-year-old woman treated for eight years with lithium carbonate for manic-depressive illness, and nine months later she became thyrotoxic. Although autoimmune disease appeared to be responsible, lithium was suspected to play a contributory role in both phases of her illness. This is the first reported case of hyperthyroidism following hypothyroidism in a lithium-treated patient. The 24 reported cases of lithium-associated thyrotoxicosis and the possible mechanisms that may explain this poorly understood phenomenon are also reviewed.