‘Faulting link’ with Alzheimer’s disease found in the study of human brain tissue

Researchers have discovered a new factor that could contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

A study by Harvard’s Faculty of Medicine has identified low lithium levels in the brain as a possible trigger for common dementia.

It is known that lithium has many functions in the brain, including the balance of chemicals regulatory mood, protecting neurons and emotional processing. It has also been used to treat bipolar disorder and depression.

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Now, the new findings show that metal could be a “missing link” in Alzheimer’s risk, according to a Harvard press release.

The researchers tested the effects of lithium on mice, as well as samples of brain tissue and human blood.

Human brain samples were obtained in association with the Rush memory and aging project in Chicago, which maintains post -mortem brain tissue of thousands of donors.

The samples represented the complete spectrum of cognitive health, which goes from any sign of disease to mild cognitive impairment to advanced Alzheimer’s, according to the launch.

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They discovered that lithium levels were reduced as the signs of the disease increased, showing as “very diminished” in advanced Alzheimer’s patients.

“It is the first time that someone has shown that lithium exists at a natural level that is biologically significant without giving it as a drug.”

As toxic amyloid plaques accumulate in the brain, a distinctive seal of Alzheimer’s, they begin to join the lithium, avoiding that it performs its protective functions.

When the mice were fed with a “lithium restricted diet”, the lithium levels of their brains decreased, causing accelerated aging, the formation of amyloid-basement plates, greater inflammation, memory loss and cognitive decline.

“Lithium turns out to be like other nutrients that we obtain from the environment, such as iron and vitamin C,” said principal author Bruce Yankner, a professor of genetics and neurology at the Blavatnik Institute of the Harvard Medical School, in the statement.

“It is the first time that someone has shown that lithium exists at a natural level that is biologically significant without giving it as a drug.”

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The researchers also discovered a new type of lithium compound, the lithium, which did not join the amyloid. When the mice drank water that contained this compound, it helped restore memory and reverse brain damage, even for those who had advanced disease signs.

The findings were published in Nature magazine.

“What impresses me most about lithium is the generalized effect it has on the various manifestations of Alzheimer,” Yanker said. “I have not really seen anything similar in all my years of working in this disease.”

“The idea that lithium deficiency could be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease is new and suggests a different therapeutic approach.”

Potential limitations

While the study suggested that the amount of lithium in the brain could be related to the accumulation of beta amyloid, had some obvious limitations, according to Ozama Ismail, Ph.D., director of scientific programs of the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago.

“Animal models do not directly replicate the Alzheimer’s in humans; rather, they can provide some ideas about the biology of progression and development of the disease,” said Ismail, who did not participate in the study, News Digital.

“The mice models have been modified to accumulate beta amyloid, a distinctive protein that accumulates in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s.”

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While studies on mice models are an “vital early step” in therapeutic research, Ismail emphasized that much more research is needed to understand the health effects of lithium levels in the brain.

“Understanding whether lithium can be therapeutic for Alzheimer’s requires large clinical trials in representative populations,” he said.

Like other important diseases, Alzheimer’s treatment is likely to require multiple approaches that combine medications and lifestyle changes, Ismail predicted.

The researchers agreed that more research is needed in clinical trials in humans.

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“You must be careful to the extrapolar of mice models, and you never know until you try it in a controlled human clinical trial,” Yankner said. “But so far, the results are very encouraging.”

If future studies confirm these findings, scientists say that routine blood tests could detect lithium levels and identify people at risk.

“I hope that lithium does something more fundamental than anti-amyloid or anti-tau therapies.”

Meanwhile, Yankner warned against people who take lithium compounds “on their own.”

“I hope that lithium does something more fundamental than anti-amyloid or anti-tau therapies, not only decreasing but reverting cognitive deterioration and improving the lives of patients,” he said.

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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Foundation of the Ludwig family, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and the Mind Foundation aged.