Lithium cation

The precise mechanism of action of Li + as a mood stabilizer is currently unknown. Li + can exert its effect by interacting with monovalent or divalent cation transport in neurons. More and more scientists have concluded that excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate is an important factor in understanding the functioning of lithium. Lithium has been shown to alter the inward and outward flow of glutamate receptors (especially GluR3) without altering the reversal potential. Lithium has a dual effect on the glutamate receptor and its function is to stabilize the amount of glutamate activity between cells and the level of health is neither too much nor too little. Excess glutamate in the space between neurons causes mania and depression is presumed to be too small. Another mechanism that lithium can help regulate mood includes noncompetitive inhibition of the enzyme called inositol monophosphatase. Alternatively, the action of lithium can be enhanced by inactivation of the GSK - 3B enzyme. The lithium regulation of GSK-3B may affect the circadian clock. GSK - 3 is known to phosphorylate glycogen synthase and hence inactivate it. GSK - 3B is also involved in regulating cellular response to damaged DNA. GSK - 3 typically phosphorylates β - catenin, so that β - catenin is eliminated. When GSK - 3 was inhibited, β - catenin increased and transgenic mice with β - catenin overexpression behaved similarly to lithium - treated mice. These results suggest that an increase in β-catenin may be a possible route for the therapeutic effect of lithium.

Lithium is a monovalent cation that was first discovered and defined when Johan August analyzed mineral petals in 1817. The role of lithium is well known in psychiatry. For half a century, it has chosen a bipolar disorder with antimanic, antidepressant and antimalarial effects. Therapeutic use of lithium also includes its use as an enhancer for depression, affective disorder, aggression, impulsive control disorders, eating disorders, ADD and certain alcohol abuse concentrates. However, when using lithium (gold standard mood stabilizer) for psychiatric patients it is necessary to pay sufficient attention. Lithium can be used for patients with cardiovascular, kidney, endocrine, pulmonary and dermatological complications. The use of lithium in children and elderly populations requires careful observation of toxicity during pregnancy and lactation.

Like other alkali metals, lithium has monovalent electrons and it is easy to abandon to form cations. Therefore, lithium is the least reactive to alkali metals, but is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly active element. Less reactivity of lithium is due to the closeness of valence electrons to the nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in 1 s orbital, the energy is much lower, not involved in chemical bonding). Lithium metal is soft enough to cut with a knife. When it is cut, it turns into a silvery white color and turns to gray as soon as it is oxidized to lithium oxide. It has one of the lowest melting points among all metals (180 ° C.), but it has the highest alkali metal melting point and boiling point.

Lithium reacts readily with water, but its activity is significantly lower than other alkali metals. This reaction produces hydrogen and lithium hydroxide in aqueous solution. Due to the reactivity of lithium and water, lithium is usually stored in hydrocarbon sealant, usually petrolatum. Although heavier alkali metal can be stored in a more dense material such as mineral oil, the density of lithium is not sufficient to be completely immersed in these liquids. In moist air, the lithium rapidly loses gloss, and the black color of lithium hydroxide (LiOH and LiOH · H 2 0), lithium nitride (Li 3 N) and lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3, the result of the secondary reaction between LiOH and CO 2) Form a coating. layer