LITHIUM: A Doctor, A Drug, And A Breakthrough

The remarkable untold story of a miracle drug, the forgotten pioneer who discovered it, and the fight to bring Lithium to the masses. From insulin comas and lobotomy to incarceration, those who suffered bipolar disorder endured dangerous, ineffective treatments for centuries until a breakthrough in the 1950s offered salvation. Lithium's efficacy at both ending and preventing manic depressive episodes was discovered by John Cade, whose years running a psychiatric ward as a prisoner of war sparked a hunch that put him on the path to revelation. This miraculous metal has since salvaged an untold number of lives, but even after its healing power was discovered, it was decades before the medical community could be convinced that lithium was not only safe but life-saving. It has now prevented millions of suicides and salvaged an untold number of lives yet its fascinating story has been long overlooked. Psychiatrist Walter A. Brown traces the incredible life of Dr John Cade from his childhood among chronic mental patients, through his years as a POW in Japan to his work in a golden age of scientific research. Brown shows superbly well that Cade made his discovery without access to advances in technology or to modern facilities. Along the way he chronicles the foibles of 19th century pseudoscience, the difficulties professionals faced in giving up old ideas and the personal development of scientific imagination, and the challenges of translating clinical discovery into practice. Particularly insightful is the distinction between systematic scientists and artistic scientists, the former operating by rule, the latter by intuition. 222pp, paperback.