What role does (should) lithium play in suicide treatment/prevention?

~An interesting pharmacological approach in terms of antisuicidal strategies is the use of lithium for treatment of patients with affective disorders. Lithium, one of the oldest substances used in modern psychiatry, has proved to have a suicide-preventing effect in the long-term treatment of affective disorders. There is evidence that lithium, independent of its mood-stabilizing effect, decreases suicides in patients with affective disorders.2 Most of the lithium studies were originally undertaken to investigate the drugÕs mood-stabilizing effects. Lithium was found to decrease aggressiveness in children with disruptive behavior.3 Other studies investigated lithiumÕs effect in patients with brain injuries who exhibited uncontrollable unstable behavior as well as in persons (eg, prisoners) with a high grade of impulsive behavior, such as certain types of personality disorders. It may be that lithium exerts an antisuicidal effect because it reduces aggression and impulsivity