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Studies have offered many ways to support science to help prevent Alzheimer's disease, follow the mental diet at the catch Weight loss drugs like Ozempic . But there is practically nothing we can do to reverse Disorder once it has already started to affect the brain.

This is why the new research of the scientists of the Harvard Medical School (HMS) are so revolutionary and exciting. In a study published this week in the journal Nature , they share that lithium intake could be an accessible and rapid way to restore brain function in those who suffer from Alzheimer's.

In relation: Scientists find a new "critical" brain scan that can soon identify Alzheimer's disease .

What is lithium?

Lithium is a metal, the lightest of the periodic table. "Found in extremely low concentrations in rocks and seawater, lithium enters the human body through foods such as cereals, cabbage and tomatoes, or by drinking water which naturally flows through rocks rich in lithium", Share Science .

Very small amounts of lithium are in the human brain. "Lithium maintains connections and communication lines that allow neurons to talk to each other," explains The Washington Post . "Metal also helps to form the myelin which covers and isolates the communication lines and helps microglial cells to identify cellular debris which can hinder brain function."

Lithium is most often called medication to treat bipolar disorder. "It works by balancing substances in your brain that help regulate mood, behaviors and thoughts," said Cleveland clinic . In this form, it is made from lithium molecule carbonate.

However, The Washington Post emphasizes that the amount of natural lithium in the brain is "1,000 times less than lithium provided in drugs to treat bipolar disorder".

Anecdotal research Posted in 2017 In Denmark, has found a link between exposure to higher lithium levels in drinking water and a lower incidence of dementia.

In relation: The FDA approves the very first Alzheimer's blood test - it will benefit .

How lithium can reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease:

The new study is the result of 10 years of research in which Harvard scientists have analyzed the role that lithium plays in normal brain function.

To achieve their results, scientists have conducted experiences in mice, as well as in brain tissue and human blood samples with variable cognitive health.

"Lithium turns out to be like other nutrients that we obtain from the environment, such as iron and vitamin C," said the author of the Senior Study Bruce Yankner , an HMS Professor of genetics and neurology . "This is the first time that anyone has shown that lithium has existed at a natural level which is biologically significant without giving it as a medication."

Yankner and his team found that in mice and human brains, loss of lithium is one of the first markers of Alzheimer's disease. "The team also noted that a reduction in lithium levels came from the binding to amyloid plaques and to an altered absorption in the brain," said a press release .

To decompose this: in healthy brains, there are tens of billions of neurons, "which are specialized cells which process and transmit information via electrical and chemical signals", explains the National Institute on Aging (Nia). "Alzheimer's disease disrupts this communication, resulting in a general loss of brain function because many neurons cease to function properly and end up dying."

This happens, it is when beta-amyloid proteins come together between neurons and disrupt cellular function. Not only did the researchers noticed that lithium links to these amyloid plates, thus reducing the quantities of lithium in the brain and contributing to plaque formations, but this has also reduced the capacity of the body to break the plates.

Harvard scientists have found that when added to drinking water, the lithium composed orotate "avoids binding of the plate and reverses the aging of Alzheimer and brain aging in mice, without toxicity," noted the press release.

On the other hand, most Alzheimer's treatments currently available can target the amyloid beta to slow down the cognitive decline but not to reverse it.

In relation: Doctors warn that common drugs can be linked to the risk of dementia .

What is the next step for treatment?

Matt Kaeberlein , former director of the Institute of Research on Healthy Aging and Longevity at the University of Washington, which was not involved in the study, said The Washington Post That he thinks that this research could change the situation for the 7 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

"The obvious impact is that because the lithium orotate is cheap dirt, I hope that we will get rigorous and randomized tests testing it very, very quickly, he said." And I would say that it will be an embarrassment for the Alzheimer's clinical community if it does not happen right away. ""

As for the next steps, the results must be validated by other laboratories before human trials can begin.

In the meantime, Yankner warns: "I do not recommend people to take lithium at this stage, because it has not been validated as a treatment in humans. We must always be careful because things can change as you go from mouse to man. ”