Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 1108182

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Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by PeterMartin on January 25, 2020, at 22:22:15

Pretty sure this has been suggested before but a new study supporting this was just published:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-01-lithium-halt-alzheimer-disease.html

There remains a controversy in scientific circles today regarding the value of lithium therapy in treating Alzheimer's disease. Much of this stems from the fact that because the information gathered to date has been obtained using a multitude of differential approaches, conditions, formulations, timing and dosages of treatment, results are difficult to compare. In addition, continued treatments with high dosage of lithium render a number of serious adverse effects making this approach impracticable for long term treatments especially in the elderly.

In a new study, however, a team of researchers at McGill University led by Dr. Claudio Cuello of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, has shown that, when given in a formulation that facilitates passage to the brain, lithium in doses up to 400 times lower than what is currently being prescribed for mood disorders is capable of both halting signs of advanced Alzheimer's pathology such as amyloid plaques and of recovering lost cognitive abilities. The findings are published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Stargazer2 on January 25, 2020, at 22:28:53

In reply to Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by PeterMartin on January 25, 2020, at 22:22:15

I guess maybe that wont be something I will get as Ive been on low dose Lithium forever. I never knew what it was doing but perhaps knowing this I can feel better about being on it at a non therapeutic level (300mg). Also everyone that sees that on my drug list assumes I am bipolar. I never had that diagnosis and was never sure of its efffectiveness. My doctor just felt better leaving me on it when I was stable rather than risking a relapse.

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by undopaminergic on January 26, 2020, at 8:12:08

In reply to Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by PeterMartin on January 25, 2020, at 22:22:15

I came across this same thing recently while looking into low-dose lithium.

I also read that even trace amounts of lithium found in water supplies can reduce the risk of suicide.

I've tried the orotate salt of lithium. It was a better antidepressant than eg. paroxetine (Seroxat, Paxil), duloxetine (Cymbalta), and bupropion (Voxra, Wellbutrin).

I want to try it again, this time for longer and more consistently.

-undopaminergic

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Lamdage22 on January 26, 2020, at 9:19:55

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by undopaminergic on January 26, 2020, at 8:12:08

I figured that Litium Carbonate works just as well as Lithium Orotate. And insurance pays, so... I am taking a half 450mg Tablet.

It may be keeping me out of the loony bin more than anything else. I can attest to the anti suicidal action at low doses!

Neuroprotective: Also cool.

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Hugh on January 28, 2020, at 18:09:08

In reply to Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by PeterMartin on January 25, 2020, at 22:22:15

It's been estimated that if drinking water nationwide contained 70-170 micrograms of lithium per liter (the same amount that drinking water in some Texas counties contains), 13,000 fewer Americans would commit suicide each year. There would be thousands of fewer murders each year, tens of thousands of fewer rapes. And it would prevent, or at least delay, the onset of dementia for a great many Americans.

As Dr. Jacob Appel of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York says, "People who oppose adding lithium to the drinking water in trace amounts don't go around advocating to strain the lithium from the drinking water from areas where it does exist.

150 micrograms of lithium per liter of water are only a thousandth of the minimum pharmaceutical dose, and have no known deleterious effects."

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Hugh on February 1, 2020, at 10:57:04

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by Hugh on January 28, 2020, at 18:09:08

"Using data for 27 Texas counties from 1978-1987, it is shown that the incidence rates of suicide, homicide, and rape are significantly higher in counties whose drinking water supplies contain little or no lithium than in counties with water lithium levels ranging from 70-170 micrograms/L."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1699579

This finding was published in 1990. In December 2009, The New York Times Magazine devoted a few paragraphs to lithium in the drinking water, but only as it pertained to the suicide rate. This was after a Japanese study found that the suicide rate was lower in areas with higher concentrations of lithium in the drinking water.

http://www.nytimes.com/projects/magazine/ideas/2009/#l

An Austrian study was published in 2011 in The British Journal of Psychiatry that mirrored the results of the Japanese study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21525518

This all goes back at least as far as 1971, when Time magazine published an article about the much higher level of lithium in the drinking water of El Paso, compared to Dallas, and the much lower murder rate in El Paso, compared to Dallas.

http://isteve.blogspot.com/2009/01/el-pasos-low.html

As far as I can tell, nothing, other than calls for "further research," has been done about this.

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by SLS on February 6, 2020, at 9:56:09

In reply to Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by PeterMartin on January 25, 2020, at 22:22:15

My decision to remain on lithium 300 mg/day for so many years was based, in large part, on the suggestion that it might help prevent Alzheimer's Dementia.


- Scott

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Lamdage22 on February 17, 2020, at 0:36:00

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by SLS on February 6, 2020, at 9:56:09

I take it for anti suicidal effects. I think it works. 225mg

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's » Lamdage22

Posted by SLS on February 17, 2020, at 10:09:11

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by Lamdage22 on February 17, 2020, at 0:36:00

> I take it for anti suicidal effects. I think it works. 225mg

Are you taking the orotate form of lithium? If so, how does 225 mg of lithium orotate compare to lithium carbonate with respect to blood levels?


- Scott

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by undopaminergic on February 17, 2020, at 10:37:17

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's » Lamdage22, posted by SLS on February 17, 2020, at 10:09:11

> > I take it for anti suicidal effects. I think it works. 225mg
>
> Are you taking the orotate form of lithium? If so, how does 225 mg of lithium orotate compare to lithium carbonate with respect to blood levels?
>

That question is hard to answer. It depends on factors such as your blood volume, and how well the lithium gets absorbed. Someone has written that the orotate does not release its lithium until in the brain.

Anyway, you can calculate, how much "raw" lithium a dose contains.
From https://www.balancingbrainchemistry.co.uk/peter-smith/107/Lithium-Orotate-for-Bipolar-and-Depression/Lithium-Orotate-Dosages-.html :
"Lithium-carbonate contains 18.8% of elemental lithium; Lithium-orotate contains 3.83% of elemental lithium".

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Lamdage22 on February 17, 2020, at 13:25:54

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's » Lamdage22, posted by SLS on February 17, 2020, at 10:09:11

Hi Scott,

I meant that I take 225 of Lithium Carbonate. Before that, I was on 375mg Orotate. I didn't notice the slightest difference between these two. When I started the orotate I was in the secure unit because of suicidality. Never again since I started.

> > I take it for anti suicidal effects. I think it works. 225mg
>
> Are you taking the orotate form of lithium? If so, how does 225 mg of lithium orotate compare to lithium carbonate with respect to blood levels?
>
>
> - Scott
>
>

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Lamdage22 on February 18, 2020, at 4:35:36

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by Lamdage22 on February 17, 2020, at 13:25:54

So I think its more cost-effective to go with Carbonate. The notion that Orotate is magically transported to the brain and only works there sounds like a typical false supplement claim to me. They know how to rid people of their money. Life (and the body) is not a fairytale.

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's » Lamdage22

Posted by SLS on February 18, 2020, at 13:08:25

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's, posted by Lamdage22 on February 18, 2020, at 4:35:36

> So I think its more cost-effective to go with Carbonate. The notion that Orotate is magically transported to the brain and only works there sounds like a typical false supplement claim to me. They know how to rid people of their money. Life (and the body) is not a fairytale.

The problem, Lambdage, is that I can't convince her GP doctor to prescribe 150 mg/day of lithium carbonite for my mother. 150 mg/day is probably ideal, and is being compared to 300 mg/day and 600 mg. Many researchers feel that 150 mg/day is overkill. Her dementia is progressing rapidly. He wants me to take her to a "specialist". She is not at all receptive to this. I was lucky enough to get her to a geriatrician who made the diagnosis. CT Scans, MRI, and MRI showed vascular insufficiency, so she actually has mixed-dementia, which is not at all uncommon.

I found a lithium orotate product put out by Weyland. It is labeled as containing 20 mg elemental lithium. That should be enough as long as there is nothing preventing it from getting into the brain.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GQPR5LN/ref=as_li_ss_tl?SubscriptionId=AKIAJO7E5OLQ67NVPFZA&ascsubtag=157471695-2-550159751.1582050568&tag=shopperz_origin1-20

Any comments?


- Scott

 

Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's

Posted by Lamdage22 on February 18, 2020, at 13:12:25

In reply to Re: Low dose Lithium may prevent Alzheimer's » Lamdage22, posted by SLS on February 18, 2020, at 13:08:25

Im not saying Lithium Orotate is bad, but my insurance and Dr happen to support Lithium Carbonate, so its free. That is its advantage (for me). The effect is the same in my opinion. Sorry about the situation.


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