--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozg...@...> wrote: > > authfriend wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote: > > <snip> > > > >> They actually have little idea how these work but have some > >> "effect" mainly on raising the bottom line for pharmaceutical > >> companies. Lithium was brought up here > > > > Bad example. Lithium is a naturally occurring substance > > and can't be patented. Pharmaceutical companies don't > > make much profit on it; they manufacture it only because > > it's the gold standard for treatment of bipolar disorder, > > so there's a significant demand for it. > > > >> and a friend who was given that wound up with > >> diabetes insipidus due to the drug's damaging effect on > >> the kidneys. > > > > The negative side effects of lithium are well known and > > have been for a long time. Anyone taking it has to have > > blood levels and thyroid and kidney function checked > > frequently. > > Thank you, Dr. Stein. FYI, this happened to my friend back > in the 1970s when the effects probably weren't well known.
They've been known since the late 19th century, actually. Because of them, lithium wasn't approved by the FDA to treat bipolar disorder until 1970, although it had been used in Europe for that purpose since the mid-20th century. You could look it up.
