Effect of neuroleptic drugs on lithium uptake by the human erythrocyte.

We studied the effects of neuroleptic and antidepressant drugs on Li+ uptake in human red cells to examine the reported neurotoxicity reported for lithium-neuroleptic combination treatment and its relationship to altered tissue Li+ levels. All the phenothiazines increased Li+ influx in red cells and steady-state Li+ distribution ratio in vitro. This effect was not observed with other drugs studied. It is suggested that increased levels of Li+ in the tissue caused by phenothiazines may be related to neurotoxic effects observed during Li+ -phenothiazine therapy.