Prophylaxis relative toxicities

Maintenance and prophylaxis with lithium, and perhaps other mood stabilizers, favorably alters the longitudinal course of a bipolar disorder. Thus, efforts to enhance long-term compliance are a necessary part of any overall strategy. The incidence of adverse or toxic events is relatively low, and close attention to the more clinically relevant consequences can usually prevent serious sequelae ( 198).An issue of critical importance for future research is the potential efficacy of alternative maintenance medication for those who fail to respond adequately to acute or long-term lithium therapy. 

The term prophylaxis as used in this chapter is limited to medical countermeasures applied relatively shortly before penetration of a toxic agent into the organism. There is a question what will happen after the administration of the prophylactic drug. When the treatment is unnecessary, it can be described as prophylaxis. However, though successful prophylaxis can be observed for some OP, full protection of the organism without post-exposure treatment, especially for soman poisoning, remains open. When the treatment is involved after exposure, the term pre-treatment has become to be accepted. 

DFP is used in research for understanding mechanisms of toxicity, and for therapy and prophylaxis of chemical warfare OP agents, because of its relatively low toxicity as compared with G-series nerve agents tabun (GA), sarin (GB), soman (GD), or cyclosarin (GF). 

---