Citation

Thies-Flechtner K, Muller-Oerlinghausen B, Seibert W, Walther A, Greil W. Pharmacopsychiatry 1996; 29(3): 103-107.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Georg Thieme Verlag)

DOI

10.1055/s-2007-979553

PMID

8738314

Abstract

Recent findings have indicated that lithium treatment markedly reduces suicide risk in major affective disorders. To compare the effect of lithium with carbamazepine and amitriptyline, suicidal behavior was analyzed during the randomized prospective long-term MAP study (N = 378; duration 2.5 years). Of the nine suicides and five attempted suicides, none took place during lithium treatment. The findings support the view that lithium has a specific antisuicidal effect over and above its prophylactic benefit.

Language: en