Harvard Scientists Suggest Lithium Deficiency Could Be Key to Stopping Alzheimer’s

Harvard Scientists Suggest Lithium Deficiency Could Be Key to Stopping Alzheimer’s
———————————
According to an article by SciTech Daily, a study by Harvard Medical School scientists, published in the journal Nature, suggests that a deficiency of lithium in the brain may be a key factor in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

The decade-long study found that lithium is naturally present in the brain and is vital for the normal functioning of all major brain cell types. Researchers discovered that a loss of lithium is one of the earliest changes associated with Alzheimer’s. They also found that amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, bind to lithium, which reduces its availability in the brain.

The scientists developed a new lithium compound, lithium orotate, which is resistant to this amyloid capture. In experiments on mice, this compound restored memory, reversed Alzheimer’s-like pathology, and protected brain cells from damage.

Senior author Bruce Yankner stated that the findings provide a new framework for understanding the disease and suggest a different therapeutic approach. However, the researchers caution that these findings must be validated in human clinical trials and that people should not take lithium compounds on their own.