Lithium: the present and the future.

The potential benefits of lithium extend beyond the treatment of acute mania and maintenance of patients with bipolar disorder, the only indications currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When used as adjunctive therapy, lithium augments the therapeutic effects of conventional antidepressants and is particularly useful in patients with resistant depression. The efficacy of the drug in the treatment of alcoholism has been a matter of controversy for several years; the most recent data suggest that the agent has limited, if any, utility in this population. More promising applications have emerged in the management of obsessive compulsive disorder. Some evidence has also suggested that lithium may possess antiviral properties. Side effects, particularly those involving the thyroid and kidney, continue to generate concern, and drug-drug interactions must also be considered whenever lithium is prescribed.