Lithium could be crucial to the emergence of Alzheimer's and treatment for the disease
Harvard researchers have found that loss of lithium in the brain accelerates memory impairment by contributing to the disease. The work, published in Nature magazine and done in 10 years, shows for the first time that lithium is produced naturally in the brain and protects it from neurodegeneration.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School in the United States have found that loss of lithium in the brain accelerates memory impairment, contributing to Alzheimer's disease, and have opened the door to the possibility that this compound will contribute to the treatment of the disease affecting nearly 400 million people worldwide.
With Alzheimer'sthere are a number of anomalies in the brain , such as the accumulation of amyloid beta protein, the neurofibrillar hilarity of the tau protein and the loss of the protective protein called REST. However, these do not fully explain the emergence of the disease, as some people with them show no signs of cognitive problems, and drugs aimed at amyloid beta do not stop memory loss.
The study shows for the first time that lithium is produced naturally inthebrain, protects it from neurodegenation and maintains the normal functioning of all major types of neurons.
The team of researchers has used an advanced type of mass spectroscopy brain and blood to measure levels of 30 metalsin cognitively healthy people with premature dementia and others with advanced Alzheimer's, using a brain tissue bank at the Rush Memory and Aging Project in Chicago.
Lithium was the only metal that produced very different results among groups, varying in the early stages of memory loss, yielding high levels in cognitively healthy people, but very small in those with mild deterioration or advanced Alzheimer's.
A subsequentexperiment in mice revealed that the lack of lithium in animals is not only associated with Alzheimer's disease, but also contributes to the development of the disease.
On the basis of these results, experts found that a lithium treatment, specifically lithium totate, had the effect of damaging the memory of mice, restoring the damage associated with the disease and restoring memory function, even in older mice with advanced disease.
Another finding noted that maintaining stable levels of lithium in the early years of life prevents the emergence of Alzheimer's, and they have thus confirmed that this component favours the pathological process.
Researchers have confirmed that, if results are repeated in subsequent studies, measuring lithium through regular blood tests could one day provide a way to identify people at risk of Alzheimer's that would benefit from treatment to prevent or delay the disease.
However, as the safety and effectiveness of lithium treatment against neurodegenation in humans has not yet been demonstrated, the authors of the study warn the population not to start using lithium on their own.
In this regard, researchers stress that the results of this study are "promising," but that "caution" must be taken, because clinical trials have yet to be conducted among patients to verify the effectiveness and safety of lithium before therapeutic use begins.
