A double blind comparison of lithium carbonate and ludiomil in the prophylaxis of unipolar affective illness.

A double-blind prospective study was carried out comparing the prophylactic effect of maprotiline and lithium carbonate over a period of 1 year in patients suffering from recurrent affective disorders. The average Affective Morbidity Index was lower, but not significantly so, in patients treated with lithium. A further analysis based on dividing patients into those with no affective morbidity and those who showed some affective morbidity during the study, demonstrated lithium carbonate to be significantly superior to maprotiline in both the group as a whole and in unipolar depressives.