Chronic kidney disease and renal failure due to lithium treatment

Abstract

Lithium has been approved for the treatment of bipolar disorder since the 1970s and even today it is considered a first-line drug for the treatment of this disease. As bipolar disorder often begins between 15-35 years of age and requires long-term treatment, the assessment of the adverse effects of the drugs used is critical. Recently, there has been renewed interest on the risk of chronic kidney disease and kidney failure induced by lithium, with findings suggesting that both complications could be more frequent than previously considered. These data have led to question traditional measures of monitoring renal function such as levels of urea and creatinine, which show significant increases only after an important reduction of the glomerular filtration rate. Preliminary data have suggested that certain biomarkers of kidney injury, such as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, may be more sensitive indicators of renal damage. The use of new biomarkers that allow early detection of kidney damage could be useful for the monitoring of patients treated with lithium.