Answer to Question 1
First, was an incident involving lithium chloride as a sodium chloride substitute for heart patients. Above a certain level, lithium is toxic and, because there was no dose limit, many users became ill and several died. Lithium then had a bad reputation as potentially lethal. Second, mania was not seen as a major problem in the U.S. The behavior of mania is rarely the kind in which people would seek treatment. Patients who would become quite manic and lose touch with reality would have been called schizophrenic at that time, and antipsychotics are usually effective in controlling mania. The third reason deals with economics and the problem with drug introduction in the U.S. A company that wants to sell a drug must spend a great deal of money to demonstrate safety and effectiveness to the FDA. Because lithium is one of the basic chemical elements and its simple salts had been available for many years, it would have been impossible to receive a patent making it easy for others to sell the drug after approval. Therefore, the company could not have recouped expenses.
Answer to Question 2
Argument for: There is a general shortage of psychiatrists especially in rural and low-income urban areas. People are then usually prescribed psychoactive drugs by a general practitioner and may be seeing a psychologist. There is often little communication between the two, so patients could be receiving incorrect treatment. General medical training covers very little about mental illness and clinical psychology training is extensive on mental illness but no background in medicine. If psychologists could undergo more training in medicine and prescription of medicine, they could be well equipped to give drug treatment to patients.
Argument against: Medical doctors fear that even with this training psychologists could still miss important medical considerations and, therefore, put a patient's health at risk. Some psychologists fear that this could turn the field of psychology into pill pushing and neglect the other treatment approaches.
Atom of the Element Lithium
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