Price L H, Charney D S, Delgado P L, Heninger G R
Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1990;100(1):3-12. doi: 10.1007/BF02245781.
Lithium enjoys wide clinical use in the treatment of affective disorders, but the mechanism of its action in these conditions is still controversial. Recent studies have shown that lithium can interact with other antidepressant drugs to enhance their efficacy, perhaps by specific effects on serotonin (5-HT) function. A large body of independent evidence suggests that 5-HT function is abnormal in depression. This review documents preclinical evidence of lithium's effects on 5-HT function at the levels of precursor uptake, synthesis, storage, catabolism, release, receptors, and receptor-effector interactions. The weight of this evidence suggests that lithium's primary actions on 5-HT may be presynaptic, with many secondary postsynaptic effects. Studies in humans, using very different methodological approaches, generally suggest that lithium has a net enhancing effect on 5-HT function. These actions of lithium may serve to correct as-yet unspecified abnormalities of 5-HT function involved in the pathogenesis of depression.
锂盐在情感障碍的治疗中有着广泛的临床应用，但其在这些病症中的作用机制仍存在争议。近期研究表明，锂盐可与其他抗抑郁药物相互作用以增强其疗效，这可能是通过对5-羟色胺（5-HT）功能的特定作用实现的。大量独立证据表明，抑郁症患者的5-HT功能存在异常。本综述记录了锂盐在前体摄取、合成、储存、分解代谢、释放、受体以及受体-效应器相互作用等水平上对5-HT功能影响的临床前证据。这些证据表明，锂盐对5-HT的主要作用可能是突触前的，同时伴有许多继发性突触后效应。采用截然不同的方法学进行的人体研究通常表明，锂盐对5-HT功能具有净增强作用。锂盐的这些作用可能有助于纠正抑郁症发病机制中尚未明确的5-HT功能异常。
