Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The DNA double helix, penicillin, the X-ray, insulin--these are routinely cited as some of the most important medical discoveries of the twentieth century. And yet, the 1949 discovery of lithium as a cure for bipolar disorder is perhaps one of the most important--yet largely unsung--breakthroughs of the modern era. In Lithium , Walter Brown, a practicing psychiatrist and professor at Brown, reveals two unlikely success stories: that of John Cade, the physician whose discovery would come to save an untold number of lives and launch a pharmacological revolution, and that of a miraculous metal rescued from decades of stigmatization.

From insulin comas and lobotomy to incarceration to exile, Brown chronicles the troubling history of the diagnosis and (often ineffective) treatment of bipolar disorder through the centuries, before the publication of a groundbreaking research paper in 1949. Cade's "Lithium Salts in the Treatment of Psychotic Excitement" described, for the first time, lithium's astonishing efficacy at both treating and preventing the recurrence of manic-depressive episodes, and would eventually transform the lives of patients, pharmaceutical researchers, and practicing physicians worldwide. And yet, as Brown shows, it would be decades before lithium would overcome widespread stigmatization as a dangerous substance, and the resistance from the pharmaceutical industry, which had little incentive to promote a naturally occurring drug that could not be patented.

With a vivid portrait of the story's unlikely hero, John Cade, Brown also describes a devoted naturalist who, unlike many modern medical researchers, did not benefit from prestigious research training or big funding sources (Cade's "laboratory" was the unused pantry of an isolated mental hospital). As Brown shows, however, these humble conditions were the secret to his historic success: Cade was free to follow his own restless curiosity, rather than answer to an external funding source. As Lithium makes tragically clear, medical research--at least in America--has transformed in such a way that serendipitous discoveries like Cade's are unlikely to occur ever again.

Recently described by the New York Times as the "Cinderella" of psychiatric drugs, lithium has saved countless of lives and billions of dollars in healthcare costs. In this revelatory biography of a drug and the man who fought for its discovery, Brown crafts a captivating picture of modern medical history--revealing just how close we came to passing over this extraordinary cure.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. vii)
• 1 Manic-Depressive Illness, A Brief History (p. 1)
• 2 The Naturalist (p. 29)
• 3 Lithium (p. 47)
• 4 Breakthrough (p. 61)
• 5 Aftermath (p. 89)
• 6 Prophylaxis Rex (p. 127)
• Epilogue (p. 165)
• Acknowledgments (p. 191)
• Notes (p. 193)
• Selected Bibliography (p. 205)
• Index (p. 213)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Brown (psychiatry, Brown Univ.) traces the history and controversy surrounding the research about and subsequent use of lithium, a natural element that became crucial for the treatment of manic-depressive disorder. Australian psychiatrist John Cade discovered lithium's impact on bipolar patients in his hospital practice. Brown notes that, initially, Cade's work was overlooked because of his lack of research training as well as his geographic location. Slowly, subsequent researchers in England and Scandinavia picked up Cade's thesis on lithium. Debates continued over the drug's use in the scientific community, but eventually research evolved and clinicians worldwide became comfortable in prescribing it for manic-depressive disorder. This important history of psychiatry shows the complexity of empirical research and quantification, as well as the ways that subjective research reports are received. At the same time, it notes that after further empirical research by others, Cade's thesis became accepted, and lithium served as a standard prescription for the treatment of some mental illnesses. VERDICT Those interested in the history of medicine, psychiatry, and medical research will find this an important and engagingly written book.--Aaron Klink, Duke Univ., Durham, NC

Publishers Weekly Review

In this comprehensive history, Brown, a psychiatrist and professor at Brown University, meticulously traces the research, theories, and people behind the discovery of lithium as a successful bipolar disorder treatment. Beginning with a brief overview of how this disorder has been understood and treated over the centuries-from the Greek origin of the word "melancholy" to the padded rooms of the 19th century and the lobotomy of Rosemary Kennedy in the 1940s-Brown then turns to the career of Australian physician John Cade. A POW in Japanese-controlled Singapore during WWII, Cade began studying psychiatric disorders while running the hospital in Changi prison; exhaustive experiments on guinea pigs after the war eventually led him to test lithium. Cade fades from the narrative after his seminal 1949 paper on the material as a successful mental health treatment. Instead, Brown covers the various doctors who picked up Cade's torch in the '50s and '60s, finally settling on Danish psychiatrist Mogens Schou, who pinpointed lithium's prophylactic nature. Cade returns at the conclusion, where Brown discusses his legacy through lithium's still vital role in mental health treatments. While occasionally excessive in the attention paid to technical detail, Brown's account nonetheless makes for a worthy chronicle of a significant topic. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Lithium, the lightest metal and one of the first three elements generated by the Big Bang, has many industrial uses, including in batteries, ceramics, and even nuclear reactors. But its most underappreciated application is the treatment of manic-depressive illness (renamed bipolar disorder in 1980), an illness that afflicts more than two million Americans and is not uncommon in creative individuals (in particular, poets). Blending medical history, psychopharmacology, and biography, psychiatrist Brown tells a tantalizing tale of a remarkably effective but underused medication for treating bipolar disorder, a drug that prevents recurring episodes of mania and depression and dramatically reduces suicide. The first published report on the usefulness of lithium in treating mania was penned in 1949 by John Cade, an enthralling Australian psychiatrist, but it didn't receive FDA approval until 1970. Much of the heavy lifting in demonstrating lithium's effectiveness was done by Danish psychiatrist Mogens Schou. Lithium therapy must be closely monitored by measurement of blood levels, for the substance can be toxic. Its mechanism of stabilizing mood remains unknown. A fascinating and valuable history.--Tony Miksanek Copyright 2019 Booklist