[Treatment of depressive states with lithium salts and its importance for the understanding of manic-depressive psychosis].

It was possible to demonstrate a certain positive effect in the prophylaxis and lithium treatment of 25 patients with periodical unipolar depressions and in 16 patients with depressive phases of a bipolar manic-depressive psychosis. No difference between the unipolar and bipolar depressions from the point of view of lithium action was detected. Lithium treatment is considered as a symptomatic, similar to other forms of medicative treatment, because it is impossible to completely eliminate with its aid the phasic disease. The authors recommend to use lithium salts in patients who are in need of prophylactical treatment partially instead of NaCl.