Could lithium explain — and treat — Alzheimer’s?

Good news! Not only batteries need lithium!

Just checked my multivitamin/multimineral supplement for lithium. It does not contain it.

"The work ... for the first time that lithium occurs naturally in the brain, shields it from neurodegeneration, and maintains the normal function of all major brain cell types. The findings — 10 years in the making — are based on a series of experiments in mice and on analyses of human brain tissue and blood samples from individuals in various stages of cognitive health. ..."

From the abstract:

"The earliest molecular changes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are poorly understood. Here we show that endogenous lithium (Li) is dynamically regulated in the brain and contributes to cognitive preservation during ageing. Of the metals we analysed, Li was the only one that was significantly reduced in the brain in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor to AD.

Li bioavailability was further reduced in AD by amyloid sequestration.

We explored the role of endogenous Li in the brain by depleting it from the diet of wild-type and AD mouse models.

Reducing endogenous cortical Li by approximately 50% markedly increased the deposition of amyloid-β and the accumulation of phospho-tau, and led to pro-inflammatory microglial activation, the loss of synapses, axons and myelin, and accelerated cognitive decline. These effects were mediated, at least in part, through activation of the kinase GSK3β. Single-nucleus RNA-seq showed that Li deficiency gives rise to transcriptome changes in multiple brain cell types that overlap with transcriptome changes in AD.

Replacement therapy with lithium orotate, which is a Li salt with reduced amyloid binding, prevents pathological changes and memory loss in AD mouse models and ageing wild-type mice.

These findings reveal physiological effects of endogenous Li in the brain and indicate that disruption of Li homeostasis may be an early event in the pathogenesis of AD. Li replacement with amyloid-evading salts is a potential approach to the prevention and treatment of AD."

Could lithium explain — and treat — Alzheimer’s? — Harvard Gazette

Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (open access)

Fig. 1: Lithium deficiency and the onset of AD.

Fig. 2: Lithium deficiency accelerates AD pathology and cognitive decline.