New Discovery About Lithium and the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer Disease

Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau are central to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD). Yet the factors that lead to the buildup of Aβ and tau in the brains of most people with AD (except those with familial early-onset AD) remain unclear.

These researchers first examined levels of multiple heavy metals in a postmortem study of brains from older people who had participated in longitudinal studies and had AD, mild cognitive impairment, or neither. People with AD or mild cognitive impairment had low concentrations of lithium in the prefrontal cortex (an area affected in AD). No other abnormal concentrations of heavy metals were found in any group.

The team then turned to mouse models: They restricted dietary lithium in wild-type mice and two mouse mo…