Discovered connection to Alzheimer's illness in examination of human brain samples
In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have uncovered a potential new approach to understanding and treating Alzheimer's disease. The study, led by a team of scientists, has identified low lithium levels in the brain as a possible trigger for Alzheimer's, suggesting that replenishing lithium could protect against or even reverse disease progression.
Melissa Rudy, senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Digital, reports on this exciting development. According to Rudy, the researchers discovered a new type of lithium compound, lithium orotate, that did not bind to amyloid and helped to restore memory and reverse brain damage in mice with advanced Alzheimer's.
The human brain samples used in the study represented the full spectrum of cognitive health, ranging from no sign of disease to advanced Alzheimer's. The findings showed that when mice were fed a "lithium-restricted diet," their brains' lithium levels decreased, causing accelerated aging, formation of amyloid-beta plaques, greater inflammation, memory loss, and cognitive decline.
The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Ludwig Family Foundation, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, and the Aging Mind Foundation, revealed that lithium has essential functions in the brain, including balancing mood-regulating chemicals, protecting neurons, and managing emotional processing.
The researchers found that low lithium levels in the brain contribute to Alzheimer's disease development by triggering multiple pathological processes, such as increased inflammation, loss of synapses and myelin, accumulation of amyloid-β plaques, tau protein phosphorylation, and cognitive decline. Lithium deficiency leads to elevated activity of the enzyme GSK3β, which plays a critical role in neurodegeneration linked to Alzheimer's. This deficiency also impairs microglial function, reducing their ability to clear amyloid-beta, and disrupts gene expression related to the disease risk.
Restoring physiological lithium levels in animal models reverses these pathological changes and cognitive deficits. The researchers noted that low-dose lithium orotate treatment restores lithium to physiological levels without toxicity and reverses disease pathology and cognitive decline in mice, suggesting a potential therapeutic avenue.
The idea that lithium deficiency could be a cause of Alzheimer's disease is new and suggests a different therapeutic approach. However, the researchers agreed that more research in human clinical trials is needed to fully understand the health effects of lithium levels in the brain. Alzheimer's treatment is likely to require multiple approaches combining medication and lifestyle changes.
Understanding if lithium can be therapeutic for Alzheimer's requires large clinical trials in representative populations. If future studies confirm these findings, routine blood tests could potentially screen for lithium levels and identify people at risk.
The findings of this study were published in the journal Nature. For more information on this topic or to share story tips, you can contact Melissa Rudy at [email protected]. A study by Harvard Medical School found that lithium deficiency in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease increased amyloid beta deposits in the brain. Lithium levels became lower as signs of Alzheimer's disease increased, showing as "greatly diminished" in advanced Alzheimer's patients.
- The groundbreaking study suggests that replenishing lithium, a crucial element found to have essential functions in the brain, could protect against or even reverse the progression of chronic diseases like Alzheimer's.
- The study reveals that low lithium levels in the brain contribute to the development of Alzheimer's by initiating multiple pathological processes, such as increased inflammation, loss of synapses and myelin, cognitive decline, and the accumulation of amyloid-β plaques.
- In the future, routine blood tests could potentially screen for lithium levels and identify individuals at risk of Alzheimer's, given that the findings suggest a correlation between lithium deficiency and the disease.
