title: Microdose lithium treatment stabilized cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: A lower incidence of dementia in bipolar patients treated with lithium has been described. This metal inhibits the phosphorylation of glycogen-synthase-kinase 3-α and β, which are related to amyloid precursor protein processing and tau hyperphosphorylation in pathological conditions, respectively. Following the same rationale, a group just found that lithium has disease-modifying properties in amnestic mild cognitive impairment with potential clinical implications for the prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) when a dose ranging from 150 to 600 mg is used. As lithium is highly toxic in regular doses, our group evaluated the effect of a microdose of 300 μg, administered once daily on AD patients for 15 months. In the evaluation phase, the treated group showed no decreased performance in the mini-mental state examination test, in opposition to the lower scores observed for the control group during the treatment, with significant differences starting three months after the beginning of the treatment, and increasing progressively. This data suggests the efficacy of a microdose lithium treatment in preventing cognitive loss, reinforcing its therapeutic potential to treat AD using very low doses.
authors: Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas da Santa Casa de Sao Paulo. R. Dr. Cesario Motta Jr, 61, CEP: 01221-020, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors: Marielza Andrade
authors: MA
authors: Nunes
authors: Tania Araujo
authors: TA
authors: Viel
authors: Hudson Sousa
authors: HS
authors: Buck
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D018021:Lithium Chloride