Lithium Depletion Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

"Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting 57 million people worldwide, with 10 million new cases reported each year. This terrible affliction is like a thief, stealing the individual's memories and reasoning skills. People with Alzheimer's increasingly struggle to recall simple things necessary to navigate life on their own, such as remembering where they live or who they know."

"Alzheimer's disease also has a significant economic impact on the global economy. In 2019, the annual cost associated with Alzheimer's disease was estimated to be US $1.3 trillion. First documented in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, the disease that bears his name produces distinctive pathology in the brain that is visible upon autopsy. People with Alzheimer's accumulate plaques made of a protein called beta-amyloid and/or neurofibrillary tangles made of a protein called tau."

"Current medications do not cure Alzheimer's but may slow disease progression. Older therapies include cholinesterase inhibitors, which increase acetylcholine in the brain, a neurotransmitter that functions in memory, learning, and motor skills. Newer therapies include monoclonal antibodies that bind amyloid proteins, which then attract immune cells to degrade the plaques. While these advances are welcome, improved treatments are sorely needed."

Alzheimer's disease affects 57 million people worldwide and causes progressive loss of memory, learning, reasoning, and daily functioning, often accompanied by personality changes and poor judgment. Annual global costs were estimated at US $1.3 trillion in 2019. Characteristic brain pathology includes extracellular beta-amyloid plaques and intracellular tau neurofibrillary tangles that disrupt neuronal communication. Current treatments can slow progression but do not cure the disease; available approaches include cholinesterase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid. Brains of Alzheimer's patients lack lithium, and lithium supplementation reversed disease-like symptoms in mouse models.

Read at Psychology Today