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The Pharmacokinetics of Lithium

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The Science and Practice of Lithium Therapy

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the current knowledge about the pharmacokinetics of lithium in humans. It covers the various marketed pharmaceutical forms and salts of lithium, as well as the variability factors that influence its pharmacokinetics, such as age, body weight, pathophysiological modifications and drug-drug interactions. Pharmacokinetics parameters and their variability are important because lithium has a narrow therapeutic index. Therapeutic drug monitoring to determine lithium blood concentrations remains the key component of clinical surveillance. This chapter focuses special attention on the brain pharmacokinetics of lithium, which are not yet fully understood. A better comprehension of the brain disposition of lithium and associated variability factors may assist our future understanding of the pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics relationships of lithium.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inserm, U1137, Paris, France

    Camille Couffignal

  2. University Paris Diderot, UMR-S 1137, Paris, France

    Camille Couffignal

  3. Inserm, U1144, Paris, France

    Lucie Chevillard, Souleiman El Balkhi, Salvatore Cisternino & Xavier Declèves PharmD, PhD

  4. University Paris Descartes, UMR-S 1144, Paris, France

    Lucie Chevillard, Souleiman El Balkhi, Salvatore Cisternino & Xavier Declèves PharmD, PhD

  5. University Paris Diderot, UMR-S 1144, Paris, France

    Lucie Chevillard, Souleiman El Balkhi, Salvatore Cisternino & Xavier Declèves PharmD, PhD

  6. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacovigilance Department, CHU Limoges Hospital, Limoges, France

    Souleiman El Balkhi

  7. Département de Pharmacie, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Jean Verdier Hospital, Paris, France

    Salvatore Cisternino

  8. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacochemistry Department, Cochin Hospital, AP-HP, Paris & Research Team “Pathophysiological and Therapeutic Targets of the Blood-Brain Barrier”, Inserm U1144, Variability to the Response of Psychotropic Drugs, Paris, France

    Xavier Declèves PharmD, PhD

Authors
  1. Camille Couffignal
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  2. Lucie Chevillard
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  3. Souleiman El Balkhi
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  4. Salvatore Cisternino
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  5. Xavier Declèves PharmD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xavier Declèves PharmD, PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Academic Department of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Gin S. Malhi

  2. Nightingale Hospitals Paris-Clinique du Château de Garches, Consultant Service Hospitalo-Universitaire Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, Paris, France

    Marc Masson

  3. Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, INSERM UMR-S1144 Paris-Diderot University, Paris, France

    Frank Bellivier

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Couffignal, C., Chevillard, L., El Balkhi, S., Cisternino, S., Declèves, X. (2017). The Pharmacokinetics of Lithium. In: Malhi, G., Masson, M., Bellivier, F. (eds) The Science and Practice of Lithium Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45923-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45923-3_2

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