New Clinical Study: Low-Dose Lithium Tested Against Early Alzheimer's

The study was a randomized, double-blind clinical trial where participants received either lithium or a placebo for two years.

Dosage

In the JAMA study, the average dose of 195 mg lithium carbonate corresponded to approximately 35–40 mg elemental lithium per day – significantly lower than in psychiatric treatment but higher than the microdoses often discussed in Alzheimer's research (5-10 mg).

What the researchers did

A total of about 80 people over 60 years old with mild cognitive impairment participated.

The researchers followed the participants with:

• memory tests

• brain imaging

• blood markers for brain health.

Results

The study did not meet its strictly predefined statistical goals, but the results still provided an interesting signal.

People who received lithium had:

• slower decline in verbal memory

• a trend towards better results in people who had amyloid in their brains.

The researchers emphasized that the study was too small to provide a definitive answer, but that the results are sufficient to warrant larger studies.

Researcher's conclusion

The study shows that low-dose lithium appears to be safe and well-tolerated in elderly individuals, and it provides a basis for larger clinical trials that can determine whether the treatment truly slows the disease.

My comment

The doses in the JAMA study were high, but it was planned several years before the Nature article was published. The latter study (conducted on mice) showed that lower doses were more effective than higher ones.