Course Summary

Lithium is used as a long-term therapy and treatment of bipolar affective disorder. It is also used to treat other mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. Lithium is known to potentially affect thyroid function. Depending on the signals from the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland produces more or less of T3 and T4. High levels of T3 and T4 levels leads to hyperthyroidism, while low T3 and T4 in the body causes hypothyroidism. Lithium can impact thyroid function in several ways. It may increase iodine content within the thyroid gland, reduce the thyroid gland’s ability to produce thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), block the release of thyroid hormones from the thyroid gland, and alter the structure of the protein thyroglobulin, which is involved in the making of thyroid hormone in the thyroid gland. Due to these effects, lithium may cause goiter as well as hypothyroidism. It is also linked to hyperthyroidism in some people, although this is rare.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • I.      Introduction
  • II.      Uses of Lithium
    • 1.      Lithium and Mood Disorder
    • 2.      Prevalence of Mood Disorders
  • III.      Thyroid Gland
  • IV.      Lithium’s Effects on the Thyroid
  • V.      Hypothyroidism, Goiter and Hyperthyroidism
    • 1.      Lithium-induced Goiter
    • 2.      Lithium-induced Hypothyroidism (with/without Goiter)
    • 3.      Lithium-induced Hyperthyroidism
    • 4.      Lithium Treatment for Hyperthyroidism
  • VI.     Case Study 1: Lithium and Hypothyroidism
  • VII.     Case Study 2: Lithium-induced Hyperthyroidism
  • VIII.     Case Study 3: Graves’ Disease and Treatment
  • IX.     Summary

Author

Kellie Wilson, PharmD

Kellie Wilson is a Doctor of Pharmacy practicing in Anaconda, Montana, where she lives with her husband and four children. She attended the University of Montana in Missoula where she graduated in 2009 with a doctorate in pharmacy. She later worked in Boise, Idaho for a large, retail pharmacy for 2 years, and then returned home to Montana to oversee an independently owned retail and long-term care pharmacy in Anaconda. As an independent retail pharmacist she has become very involved in psychiatric pharmacy for two major behavioral health organizations that are located around all of Montana. Kellie’s passion is retail pharmacy because she enjoys the interactions with customers as well as the challenges and rewards of staying current with the continuous changes in the pharmacy field.

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