A New Hope for Patients: Scientists Discover What May Reverse Alzheimer’s

How Does Lithium Protect the Brain? A Decade-Long Discovery

The causes of Alzheimer’s disease have been a mystery to scientists for years. Many changes have been identified in the brain in connection with the disease, but none have been definitively linked to it. For example, clumps of specific proteins occur in the brain tissue. In some people with these abnormalities, the cognitive decline characteristic of Alzheimer’s simply did not occur. The lack of a clear cause has meant that treatment methods have been insufficient.

However, the latest discoveries by researchers from Harvard University could change this. A scientific article published in Nature describes an experiment conducted on mice that tells us a lot about the development of Alzheimer’s in our brains. What’s important is that the rodents were not the only ones being observed. The team also analyzed human patients at various stages of the disease. The entire process took 10 years, and the results of this long-term work could be groundbreaking for people suffering from Alzheimer’s.

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Lithium—The Forgotten Guardian of the Brain

Lithium is a fairly common element in nature, used, among other things, to treat bipolar disorder. It also occurs naturally in our brains, but over the years, it binds to toxic amyloid plaques. This process begins long before the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s symptoms. As it turns out, however, this element is quite essential for our brain health. When lithium binds, its amount in our body decreases, which triggers a cascade of changes:

• inflammation appears
• nerve connections are lost
• cells are damaged
• consequently, memory is lost

Observations of both mice and humans showed that a diet low in lithium accelerated brain aging and the development of Alzheimer’s symptoms. In turn, maintaining a stable level of this element in the body from a young age protected against the development of the disease. The real breakthrough came, however, when researchers began testing lithium orotate on rodents. This compound makes the element resistant to binding with amyloid plaques. It turned out that its use not only stopped the disease’s progression but also reversed brain damage and restored memory. The effects were visible even in older subjects.

Patience is Key. Do Not Take Lithium on Your Own

The researchers involved in the project admit that lithium may be the missing link in the fight against Alzheimer’s. “The hypothesis that lithium deficiency may be a cause of Alzheimer’s is new and suggests a different therapeutic approach,” says Bruce Yankner, lead author of the study and professor of genetics and neurology at the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard University, quoted in a press release from the university.

Yankner emphasizes, however, that further experiments are needed to approve lithium therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. “You have to be cautious with conclusions drawn from mouse studies,” says the professor. The study authors strongly advise against self-supplementation with lithium, especially since some compounds of this element are toxic in excessive amounts. Lithium orotate, which reversed Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice, is awaiting clinical trials. Perhaps it will soon be on store shelves as a treatment for a disease that affects up to 400 million people worldwide.

Read the original article: Nowa nadzieja dla chorych. Odkryto, co może cofać Alzheimera