Is Lithium the Missing Element?

For those of us science nerds out there Lithium is known simply as an alkali metal with the atomic number 3. In the medical world, however, lithium has served as a clinical treatment for bipolar disorder for over 50 years. The question that is now being posed is whether lithium is the missing element in the treatment of a wider set of neurodegnerative diseases. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, is characterized by extreme mood swings between depressive and manic states. Lithium is effective in treating acute manic episodes as well as preventing relapses. While we do not have a full understanding of lithium’s actions in the brain, it has been suggested that lithium has a neuroprotective/neurotrophic property. It acts in a variety of pathways in the brain, eventually leading to the inhibition of apoptosis, or cell death. In addition, those pathways devoted to cell proliferation are stimulated, leading to a neurotrophic effect.
With lithium’s success in the treatment of Bipolar disorder, some researchers are beginning to wonder if it might be effective in a variety of other neurodegenerative diseases. The neuroprotective role of lithium seems promising in considering diseases that lead to cell death. In addition, lithium has been shown to protect against a variety of pathologies that are present in neurodegenerative diseases. Glutamate-induced excitotoxicity is noted in diseases such as stroke, Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, brain trauma, cerebellar degeneration, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s disease, as Parkinson’s disease. Lithium has shown to protect against the detrimental effects of glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. In addition, lithium has been shown to protect against endoplasmic reticulum stress, which is common in many neurodegenerative diseases. While animal models have been successful in utilizing lithium to treat a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, the difficulty comes in seeing if these results will transfer to human trials.
Although lithium has been shown to have beneficial effects, it’s important that proper studies are done prior to its widespread clinical use. As previously discussed, lithium acts within a variety of pathways in the brain. In addition, we haven’t yet elucidated all of its effects in the body. By acting in a variety of pathways, lithium presents the issue of unwanted side effects. In a clinical setting, it may be necessary to consider the benefits along with the side effects to see if the overall outcome is worth the negative effects. While it has been effective in the treatment of Bipolar disorder, more research is necessary for its use as treatment for other diseases. That being said, it seems as though lithium just might be that “missing element” for treatment of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases.