Researchers have identified new factors that can contribute Development of Alzheimer’s disease.
A study by Harvard Medical School has identified low levels of lithium in the brain as a possible trigger for common dementia.
Lithium is known to have many functions in the brain. This includes balancing mood-regulating chemicals, protecting neurons, and managing emotional processing. It is also used to treat bipolar disorder and depression.
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Now, according to a Harvard press release, new findings indicate that metals could become a “missing link” for the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers have tested the effects of lithium in mice, Human brain tissue Blood sample.
Human brain samples were obtained from thousands of donors in collaboration with Chicago’s Rush Memory and Aging Project, which maintains post-mortem brain tissue.
The sample represented the full spectrum of Cognitive HealthFrom signs of disease to mild cognitive impairment to advanced Alzheimer’s disease, the release states.
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They found that lithium levels decrease as the symptoms of disease increase, indicating that they have “significantly reduced” in patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
When toxic amyloid plaques accumulate in the brain, a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, they begin to adhere to lithium, preventing the implementation of protective functions.
When mice were fed a “lithium-restricted diet,” lithium levels in their brains decreased, causing accelerated aging, the formation of amyloid beta plaques, greater inflammation, memory loss, and a decrease in cognitive stances.
“Lithium turns out to be Other nutrients In the release, Bruce Jankner, professor of genetics and neurology at the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, said:
“This is the first time anyone has shown that lithium exists at a natural level, and it’s biologically meaningful without giving it as a drug.”
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Researchers also discovered a new type of lithium compound – lithium orotate – that did not bind to amyloid. When mice drank water containing this compound, it helped restore memory and reverse brain damage, even those with signs of progression of the disease.
The findings were published in Nature.
“What impressed me most about lithium is its widespread effect on various symptoms of Alzheimer’s,” Yanker said. “In my years working on this disease, I have not really seen anything similar to it.”
“The idea that lithium deficiency could be the cause Alzheimer’s disease It is new and suggests another therapeutic approach. ”
The study suggested that the amount of lithium in the brain may be associated with the accumulation of amyloid beta, but there were some obvious limitations, according to Dr. Ozama Ismail, director of the science program at the Alzheimer’s Disease Association in Chicago.
“Animal models do not directly replicate Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Rather, they can provide some insight into the biology of disease progression and development,” Ismail, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“The mouse model has been modified to accumulate amyloid beta, a distinctive protein that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.”
meanwhile Mouse Model Research It was a “critical early stage” in therapeutic research, and Ismail emphasized that much more research is needed to understand the health effects of lithium levels in the brain.
“Large clinical trials in a representative population are needed to understand whether lithium could be a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s,” he said.
Like other major diseases, treatment for Alzheimer’s disease may require multiple combinations of medications Changes in lifestyleIsmail has been predicted.
The researchers agreed that further research into human clinical trials is needed.
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“We need to be careful about extrapolating from mouse models, but we never know until we try it in a controlled human clinical trial,” Jankner pointed out. “But so far, the results are extremely encouraging.”
If future research confirms these findings, scientists say that daily blood tests can potentially screen lithium levels and identify people at risk.
In the meantime, Yankner warned those taking the lithium compound “self.”
“My hope is that lithium does more basic than anti-amyloid and anti-tau therapy, not only reduces cognitive decline, but also reverses; Improve the lives of patientsHe said.
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This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Ludwig Family Foundation, the Glenn Medical Research Foundation, and the Aging Heart Foundation.
