Can Lithium Halt Progression of Alzheimer's Disease?

A study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease demonstrated that lithium administered in a formulation that facilitates passage to the brain can halt symptoms of Alzheimer's disease progression, reports ScienceDaily . "Microdoses of lithium at concentrations hundreds of times lower than applied in the clinic for mood disorders were administered at early amyloid pathology stages in the Alzheimer's-like transgenic rat," said McGill University's Claudio Cuello. "These results were remarkably positive. . . . They stimulated us to continue working with this approach on a more advanced pathology." By applying the same formulation at later stages of the disease to their transgenic rat modeling neuropathological aspects of Alzheimer's disease, the researchers learned that pathology reduction and better cognition can be realized at more advanced stages, similar to late preclinical stages of the disease — when amyloid plaques have accrued in the brain. "Our findings show that microdoses of lithium in formulations such as the one we used, which facilitates passage to the brain through the brain-blood barrier while minimizing levels of lithium in the blood, sparing individuals from adverse effects, should find immediate therapeutic applications," Cuello said.