Lithium Benefits and Alzheimer’s... to Be or Not to Be

Can further research on the use of Lithium in Alzheimer’s patients prove to be beneficial in the prevention and/or improvement in the life of Alzheimer’s patients

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slow and progressive disease that affects the brain’s cognitive abilities while bipolar is a manic depressive disorder that causes mood swings from depression to high energy and activity levels.  Neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that are evidenced in the brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer’s have been proven to be directly linked to the diagnosis of the disease.  Lithium, a drug that has been used to treat bipolar patients for more than 50 years, inhibits glycogen synthase kincase-3, an enzyme which plays a key role in the production of these neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.  At this time there is no cure for Alzheimer’s nor a proven treatment for the disease, however science is getting close.  It is estimated that the growth of the disease continues to steadily climb.  For this reason there is a need to investigate further the possibilities of the use of lithium or a derivative thereof in the treatment of AD.

Lithium Benefits and Alzheimer’s To Be or Not to Be

            Lithium carbonate has been a long time successful treatment for those suffering from bipolar disorder.  Recent studies, however, have been conducted in the research of the possible use of lithium in Alzheimer’s patients however more in depth studies are necessary in order to conclude whether small regular doses of lithium or lithium orotate can either aid in the prevention and/or slow the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in patients.  Although the cause for the disease is not fully understood, there are numerous possibilities for the onset of Alzheimer’s ranging from depression, bipolar, low testosterone, hormone levels, genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors.  This paper will focus upon the need for further research and possible introduction of the use of lithium and/or lithium orotate in the treatment of Alzheimer’s patients.

Brief History and Description of Alzheimer’s Disease

            Alzheimer’s effects cognitive behavior, memory loss, problem solving and reasoning skills stemming from brain cell malfunction and damage.  Dementia that is brought on by Alzheimer’s disease is progressive and debilitating.  Although it is believed that the disease has probably been in existence since the onset of mankind, it wasn’t until the early 1900s when the distinction of the disease referred to as dementia or salinity was discovered and termed by Dr. Alois Alzheimer and his colleague, Emil Kraeplin.   During an autopsy on a patient’s brain, Dr. Alzheimer detected neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain tissue. (Cutler & Sramek, 1996) (p.iii)  This finding solidified that there was a significant difference between the effects of normal memory lapses due to aging and/or salinity and that of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.  It also brought forth that the disease can only be definitely diagnosed upon the death of the patient and the results of an autopsy of the brain tissue.

Brain Function in Alzheimer’s

 According to Neal R. Cutler and John J. Sramek, there are various criteria in the diagnosing of the disease; they state the following that “a certain number of neuritic plaques (the type of plaque most commonly seen in Alzheimer’s disease) correlated with age and also figures in the presence or absence of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms in life where possible.” (Cutler & Sramek, 1996) (p. 12) The suspected pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) involves several phases in the brain.  Neurofibrillary tangles occur within the neuron and contain the protein tau which aids in signaling pathways.  In an Alzheimer’s patient the tau protein is abnormal which in turn causes degradation to the cell. The derivative from this accumulation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) can be toxic to neurons hence cell death. (Yoram Vodovotz, 1996)

Neuritic plaques also hold a significant key to the mystery of brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s patients.  Affected neurons in patients with AD accumulate an amyloid protein or amyloid beta which out puts nitric oxide synthase (NOS2).  The formation of neuritic plaques appear which are intercellular and accumulate between the neurons, this interference in the pathway is a probable cause to the faulty processing between the neurotransmitters and receptors.  (Yoram Vodovotz, 1996)   There is a significant linkage to NOS2 and that of the pathogenesis in AD.

Lithium and Its Effect on the Brain

            Lithium is a natural mineral that has been in use for more than fifty years for the treatment of patients suffering from bipolar depression.  Lithium is expelled through the kidneys and the use of it in bipolar patients must be monitored as there is a risk where it can build up in the system.   Lithium carbonate has been used to treat bipolar patients and Lithium orotate has been safely used to treat patients of alcoholism.  (Sartori, 1986) Lithium has also been found to inhibit glycogen synthase kinase-3 which is a key factor in the production of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles which are prevalent in Alzheimer’s disease. (Nunes, 2007) According to a recent study notated in The Lancet “Chronic use of lithium has been shown to increase neurogenesis in adult rodent brains, and studies by Eriksson and colleagues have shown that neurogenesis occurs in adult human brains. Taken together, the increases in human grey matter, the increases in human-brain N-acetyl-aspartate concentrations, the increases in bcl-2 levels, the clear evidence for neurotrophic/neuroprotective effects, and the increased neurogenesis in rodent studies suggest that some of the long-term benefits of lithium may be mediated by neurotrophic effects.” (Moore, 2000)  These findings highlight that there is the possibility that lithium could aid in brain cell generation. Further effects of lithium noted in a recent article from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies it was stated that “The stem cell-derived neurons were three to four times more electrically active than control cells and tended to burn themselves out,” said John Kelsoe, Jr., professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a co-author of the study. “This was reversed by treatment with lithium, but only in cells that came from patients who had responded to lithium,” (Salk News Release, 2015) proving that lithium was attributed to new cell growth in the gray matter of the brain.

Conclusion

            Alzheimer’s has been a growing worldwide concern and the numbers of those who have it and are projected to become one of its victims, is consistently on the rise.  (2015 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, 2015)  It is a debilitating cognitive disease that not only affects the patient but the family, caregivers and elevates the rising medical costs it takes to care for the patient.  Proven effectiveness has been shown with the use of lithium in bipolar patients’ brain activity and its success in managing the disorder.  Positive results have been ascertained from the benefits of the use of lithium in Alzheimer’s patients previously diagnosed with bipolar.  Nitric oxide, neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles play significant roles in the pathological diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and lithium plays a part in controlling the production of these key factors.  Lithium is not a synthetic drug it is natural chemical element, one to be investigated further for the possible benefit in either the prevention or stabilization of Alzheimer’s disease.  With more research studies and testing could significantly move the research to further findings for a cure for AD. 

Works Cited

2015 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures. (2015). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org/facts/

Cutler, N. R., & Sramek, J. J. (1996). Understanding Alzheimer's Disease. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

Moore, G. J. (2000). Lithium-induced increase in human brain grey matter. The Lancet, 356(9237), 1241-1242.

Nunes, P. V. (2007, March). Lithium and risk for Alzheimer's disease in elderly patients with bipolar disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 190(4), 359-360.

Salk News Release. (2015, October 28). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from Salk Institute for Biological Studies: http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=2126

Sartori, H. (1986, March-April). Lithium orotate ni the treatment of alscoholism and related conditions. Alcohol an International Biomedical Journal, 3(2), 97-100.

Yoram Vodovotz, M. S.-W. (1996, October). Iducible nitric oxide synthase in tangle-bearing neurons of patiens with alzheimer's disease. The Journal of Experiemental Medicine, 184(4), 1425-1433.