FROM DAILY MAIL: A ‘game-changing’ study has found that low levels of lithium may be a hidden cause of Alzheimer’s disease, offering the hope of a simple, low-cost treatment that could protect the brain long before lasting damage begins.
The research, published in the journal Nature, suggests that topping up lithium levels in the brain by regularly taking it as a supplement could slow, or even reverse, memory loss.
It’s thought to be caused by a build-up of sticky protein clumps, called amyloid plaques, between brain cells: these block the signals the brain cells use to communicate. Inside these cells, tau proteins, which help hold brain cells together and transport nutrients, twist into threads that strangle and kill the cells. Together, these changes cause the brain to shrink.
Lithium is a naturally occurring mineral that’s found in tiny amounts in the brain, where it helps nerve cells communicate and protects them from damage. The scientists believe the drop in lithium is the result of amyloid plaques draining the mineral from the cells surrounding them.
In the new study, researchers from Harvard Medical School performed tests on mice after determining that, like humans, the mice developed more amyloid and tau tangles when their lithium levels dropped, affecting their memory.
However, giving the mice with Alzheimer’s lithium orotate, administered in their drinking water, restored the lithium levels in their brain tissue and also reduced the build-up of sticky protein plaques and tau tangles, reversing their memory problems.
“This is groundbreaking. For the first time, we can see how lithium deficiency may drive the disease – and that correcting it might undo the damage,” Professor Bruce Yankner, a neuroscientist who led the study, said
The next step is human trials, according to researchers in the hopes of identifying an easy, low-cost treatment for dementia.
The Mail notes that while there are about seven million people in the US affected by dementia, current medications can only slow decline while potentially causing nasty side-effects like nausea, dizziness, and sleep problems.
There is no current treatment to stop or reverse the disease.
“Lost Lithium” explores recent research on Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on the role of lithium deficiency in its onset.
It highlights a study where researchers analyzed 27 different metals in hundreds of human brain samples, finding that lithium was the only metal significantly… pic.twitter.com/I9uWcRHuQ7
— Dion Winn (@DionWinn) October 8, 2025
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