Alzheimer’s breakthrough as scientists discover cause and treatment…

Scientists have found that a simple previous remedy could possibly be both the cause and potential treatment for Alzeheimer’s in a major breakthrough.

After practically a decade of research, scientists at Harvard Medical School say they’ve discovered that lithium performs an important function in mind operate and could possibly be used to forestall mind getting older and Alzheimer’s disease. Lithium is a chemical ingredient, it’s a smooth, silvery-white alkali steel and has been used as a medication for practically a century.

While it was only permitted by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1970, it had already long been used to deal with temper problems. The steel works as a temper stabilizer and is used to deal with bipolar disorder and depression. The new findings come as other Alzheimer’s research suggests early warning signal to look out for in bathe or tub.

“Most people associate lithium with psychiatric treatment. Our study shows, for the first time, that naturally occurring lithium plays a crucial role in maintaining brain health during aging—even at concentrations far below those used in clinical psychiatry,” examine authors Bruce Yankner and Liviu Aron told Newsweek.

Lithium crucial to sustaining mind health

While lithium is not new to the medical world, for the first time researchers have now shown that the steel is of course current in the physique in tiny quantities and that it’s required by cells to operate usually. It also seems to be very important in sustaining mind health.

The findings, reported Wednesday in the journal of Nature, stem from a collection of experiments on mice as effectively as analyses of human mind tissue and blood samples from people in numerous phases of cognitive health. The researchers at Harvard and Rush universities discovered that lowering lithium in the diet of regular mice brought on their brains to turn into infected adn they developed possibilities related with accelerated getting older.

Among mice that have been bred to develop the same varieties of mind adjustments as people with Alzheimer’s, a low-lithium died also sped up the buildup of sticky proteins that type amyloid plaques and tangles in the mind that are key indicators of the disease, it also ramped up reminiscence loss.

In comparability, sustaining regular lithium ranges in the mice as they aged protected them from the mind adjustments related with Alzheimer’s.

“We found that lithium is uniquely depleted in the brains of people with mild cognitive impairment—a precursor to Alzheimer’s. This makes lithium deficiency one of the earliest biochemical signs of the disease, possibly years before clinical symptoms appear,” Yanker and Aron explained.

“We also saw that higher endogenous lithium levels were associated with preserved cognitive function even in individuals without Alzheimer’s. So, this isn’t just about preventing disease—it’s about supporting healthy brain aging in general.”

Study may unlock early diagnosis and new treatment for Alzheimer’s 

The groundbreaking research may unlock new therapies and diagnostic exams for Alzheimer’s, which impacts an estimated 6.7 million older adults in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It offers a new unifying idea of the devastating disease as effectively as a strategy for a lot earlier disagnosis, prevention and treatment, the researchers say. Recently developed Alzheimer’s treaments targetting amyloid beta (a key part of the amyloid plaques) normally do not reverse reminiscence loss and only slighly scale back the speed of decline.

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

Previous research had discovered that lithium is the only steel to have had markedly different ranges across people with and without Alzheimer’s at different phases. However, Yanker famous: “Lithium turns out to be like other nutrients we get from the environment, such as iron and vitamin C.”

He added: “It’s the first time anyone’s shown that lithium exists at a natural level that’s biologically meaningful without giving it as a drug.” Previous research have also indicated that greater lithium ranges in the setting, including in consuming water, resulted in decrease charges of dementia.

Yanker’s staff found that in mice, lihtium depletion is not just linked to Alzheimers, it helps drive it. The discovering creates hope that lithium may probably be used to deal with the disease in its entirity.

The examine discovered that treating mice with the lithium orotate, the most potent amyloid-evading compound, reversed Alzheimer’s pathology, prevented mind cell harm and restored reminiscence. The findings still need to be confirmed in people via medical trials but they counsel that medics may measure lithium ranges as a screen for early Alzheimer’s.

“Our study adds to growing evidence that Alzheimer’s may be preventable—with something as simple as keeping brain lithium at healthy levels as we age,” Yankner and Aron said. They added: “Clinical trials [on humans] could test the impact of low-dose supplementation on cognitive health and dementia risk.”