21 Nov , 17:56
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New research shatters hopes for lithium in the fight against Alzheimer's, but leaves a chance for modern forms of the drug. Japanese scientists have found that the popular mood stabilizer is not able to slow memory deterioration, contrary to previous assumptions. A large-scale meta-analysis of six clinical studies involving 435 people found no advantages of standard forms of lithium over placebo.
As reported by TUT.AZ, the work is published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (N&BR).
Researchers from Fujita University note that theoretically lithium should protect nerve cells: it reduces inflammation, blocks the formation of amyloid plaques and tau protein, and its deficiency in the brain accelerates cognitive decline in laboratory animals. However, clinical practice has revealed a complete absence of positive effect in patients with initial cognitive impairments and early stage Alzheimer's disease.
Scientists hypothesize that the problem may lie in the chemical form of the drug: traditional lithium carbonate poorly overcomes the blood-brain barrier and actively binds to amyloid, which dramatically reduces its availability to the brain. In contrast, lithium orotate has shown more promising results in laboratory conditions — it penetrates neurons better and requires significantly lower dosages.
The scientific group emphasizes that, despite the disappointing results of old compounds, it is too early to write off lithium as a potential remedy against Alzheimer's: now it is critically important to conduct new clinical trials of modern forms of the drug, especially lithium orotate, in patients at the earliest stages of the disease.
