Kidney Health and Bipolar

A talk from Dr. Robert Hunter on kidney health and the use of Lithium.

February Meeting: Kidney Health & Bipolar

We were happy to welcome Dr. Robert Hunter from the University of Edinburgh for his presentation on kidney health and the use of Lithium.

An expert in his field, Dr. Hunter is an author of the NHS Lithium Handbook and currently conducting research at the University of Edinburgh aimed at better understanding the role of molecular mechanisms in kidney diseases.

In his talk, Dr. Hunter reviewed the specific risks of lithium on kidney health. Lithium is a long standing and highly used medication for bipolar disorder, but like most medication, there are potential risks as well as benefits. While the benefits of lithium are generally considered to outweigh the risks, the risks of lithium impacting kidney health is high, especially with long time use. While lithium helps over 1 million people in the UK, it also doubles the risk of kidney disease, and with long term use, the risk of kidney failure increases 8-fold.

Fortunately, Dr. Hunter and his research team are exploring new ways of studying kidney function using culture cells and hope their research can lead to safer treatment for lithium users. And as the research involves and affects lithium users, Dr. Hunter also emphasized the importance of collaborative discussions that allow for input and feedback from kidney and bipolar patients.

We are very grateful to Dr. Hunter for his time and all he shared, as well as to everyone who attended. You can find more details about the risks of lithium in the images below.