Researchers at Harvard Medical School have made a groundbreaking discovery that lithium plays a crucial role in maintaining normal brain function and may hold the key to preventing or reversing Alzheimer’s disease.
For decades, scientists have been searching for an explanation for why some people with Alzheimer’s-like changes in the brain never develop dementia. The new study, published in Nature, suggests that lithium deficiency in the brain may be the earliest spark that ignites the memory-robbing march of Alzheimer’s.
The research found that lithium occurs naturally in the brain and shields it from neurodegeneration, maintaining the normal function of all major brain cell types. However, when lithium levels are depleted, it can lead to accelerated brain pathology and memory decline.
In a breakthrough discovery, scientists also created a novel lithium compound that avoids binding to toxic amyloid plaques, which are thought to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. This new compound reversed memory loss in mice without causing toxicity.
The findings have significant implications for the development of early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s. The study provides a new theory of the disease and sheds light on why some people with risk factors develop the disease while others don’t.
Affecting an estimated 400 million people worldwide, Alzheimer’s is a complex disease that involves various brain abnormalities. While treatments have been developed to target amyloid beta, they often fail to reverse memory loss. The new study offers hope for a more effective approach to addressing this devastating disease.
The research was made possible in part by federal funding and was conducted at Harvard Medical School. However, the future of such efforts now hangs in the balance due to government funding cuts.
Source: https://hms.harvard.edu/news/could-lithium-explain-treat-alzheimers-disease