Overview

• Analyses of postmortem brain and blood samples in a Nature study found lithium levels uniquely lower in people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s compared to healthy controls.
• Researchers discovered that amyloid-beta plaques bind lithium ions in Alzheimer’s brains, potentially depleting neuronal lithium and fostering protein aggregation and inflammation.
• In mouse models, lithium-poor diets accelerated amyloid and tau pathology and cognitive decline while treatment with lithium orotate at very low doses reduced plaque formation, dampened inflammation and improved memory without observable side effects.
• Population-level observations show fewer dementia cases in areas with higher lithium concentrations in drinking water and among long-term lithium-treated patients, supporting a possible preventive link.
• While clinical trials are planned to assess lithium orotate’s human efficacy and safety, medical experts caution against self-medication due to lithium’s narrow therapeutic window and risks to kidney and thyroid function.