Lithium in the brain has been found to protect against cognitive decline

Does lithium deficiency contribute to Alzheimer’s disease? Restoring lost lithium could be a new angle from which to tackle Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease, which represents 60–80% of dementia cases¹, robs people of their memory, cognition and independence. A decade-long period of mild cognitive impairment precedes the onset of dementia, which affects about 10% of people over the age of 65¹. Although the disease has no cure, regulators have approved two antibody therapies that aim to clear the characteristic extracellular deposits of amyloid protein from the brain to slow deterioration. However, the benefits of these treatments are modest, and they have serious brain-damaging side effects, including the worsening of atrophy². Therefore, alternative treatment approaches are urgently needed. Writing in Nature, Aron et al.³ introduce lithium deficiency in the brain as a possible contributor to Alzheimer’s disease and a potential non-conventional therapeutic target.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02255-w

This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Ashley I. Bush