Translational investigation of a lithium mimetic on emotional and cognitive processing in healthy volunteers

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Bipolar disorder disease is a chronic illness characterized by recurrent episodes of aberrant mood that affects around 3% of the world's population. Current therapies for bipolar disorder such as lithium, valproic acid and atypical antipsychotics, such as seroquel, cause serious side effects including liver and kidney damage. There is therefore an urgent need for new therapies that allow long-term mood stabilisation in patients, but are more favourably tolerable. In this project, we propose to confirm the suitability of a known antioxidant that has proven to be safe in humans as a lithium replacement candidate. Our drug inhibits the enzyme inositol monophosphatase, a candidate therapeutic target of lithium and also alters mood and behaviour in animals in a manner similar to lithium. This drug, if successful therefore, would offer for the first time, the potential for physicians to treat bipolar patients without exposing them to harmful side effects.