Could Lithium Explain — and Treat — Alzheimer’s Disease?

• Study shows for the first time that lithium plays an essential role in normal brain function and can confer resistance to brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Scientists discovered that lithium is depleted in the brain by binding to toxic amyloid plaques — revealing a new way Alzheimer’s may begin.

• A new class of lithium-based compounds avoids plaque binding and reverses Alzheimer’s and brain aging in mice, without toxicity.

A team of researchers at Harvard Medical School may have found an answer: lithium deficiency in the brain.

The work, published in Nature, shows for the first time that lithium occurs naturally in the brain, shields it from neurodegeneration, and maintains the normal function of all major brain cell types. The findings — 10 years in the making — are based on a series of experiments in mice and on analyses of human brain tissue and blood samples from individuals in various stages of cognitive health.

The scientists found that lithium loss in the human brain is one of the earliest changes leading to Alzheimer’s, while in mice, similar lithium depletion accelerated brain pathology and memory decline. The team further found that reduced lithium levels stemmed from binding to amyloid plaques and impaired uptake in the brain. In a final set of experiments, the team found that a novel lithium compound that avoids capture by amyloid plaques restored memory in mice.

The results unify decades-long observations in patients, providing a new theory of the disease and a new strategy for early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.

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