A study published in Nature August 6 could well change the way of treating Alzheimer’s disease, to date irreversible. Harvard researchers may well have found the resolution key to understanding the enigma posed by this pathology.
What if we managed to cure Alzheimer’s disease? This is perhaps the feat that scientists of Harvard University have managed to accomplish, thanks to a molecule: lithium.
Published in the journal Nature This August 6, 2025, their study demonstrates for the first time a link between the drop in the level of lithium naturally present in the brain and the appearance of Alzheimer’s disease.
These discoveries offer “A new disease theory and a new strategy for early diagnosis, prevention and treatment”announces a press release. Not yet tested on humans, drugs playing on this mechanism have good results in mice.
Alzheimer’s or protein abnormalities
In Alzheimer’s disease, there are anomalies such as beta-amyloid proteins that accumulate in the brain in the form of deposit, constituents of tau protein that get into fit and the loss of a protein (REST) however protective.
However, all these defects do not fully explain the appearance of the disease, as some people may present these brain anomalies without being victims of cognitive decline.
In addition, current disease treatments, targeting beta-amyloid protein, only slow down the progression of symptoms without reversing memory loss.
“The idea that lithium deficiency could be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease is new and suggests a different therapeutic approach”, explains Bruce Yankner, principal author of the study. “The study suggests that researchers could one day use lithium to treat the disease in its entirety rather than focusing on a single facet like beta-amyloid or tau”he explains.
What is the link between lithium and Alzheimer’s disease?
One of the first changes in the brain, when Alzheimer’s disease is declared is the formation of aggregate of beta-amyloid. The researchers discovered that these aggregates bind themselves to lithium, which “Affects all the main types of brain cells and, in mice, causes modifications similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease, in particular memory losses »according to the explanations of the press release. They were therefore able to observe that lithium levels, in comparison with other metals, varied significantly in the brain and in the blood depending on the stage of the disease.
“Lithium turns out to be similar to other nutrients that we find in the environment, such as iron and vitamin C”says Bruce Yankner. “This is the first time that is demonstrated that lithium has existed at a natural, biologically significant level, without administering it in the form of a medication. »» The researchers even went so far as to establish a range of normal lithium levels in the brain.
Where the prowess lies is that scientists have managed to identify a form of lithium, the lithium orotate, which is not affected by beta protein deposits. And, treatment with lithium orotate to permis “To reverse the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, to prevent brain damage and to restore memory ».
These results should still be corroborated by clinical trials on human beings. “You have to be careful when you extrapolate from Murin models, and you never know before testing a controlled clinical trial on humans” underlines the main author of the study. “But so far, the results are very encouraging”he adds.
Lithium as hope
You may have heard of lithium as a treatment of another disease, bipolarity. However, these are other compounds of lithium, where the doses administered are much more important and could prove toxic in the elderly.
The positive effect of lithium administration in Alzheimer’s disease in humans who have not yet been confirmed, Bruce Yanker encourages caution and advises against compounds of lithium alone. He hopes clinical trials will start shortly. “I hope that lithium will do something more fundamental than anti-amyloid or anti-mate therapies, not only by attenuating but by reversing cognitive decline and improving the lives of patients”he concludes.
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