Study shows that lithium prescribed to patients with bipolar and depression reduces dementia risk

One study found that a mood-stabilizing drug given to patients with bipolar disorder may reduce the risk of dementia.

The alleged benefits of Lithium were discovered by Cambridge University academics who analyzed nearly 30,000 mental health patients.

Only 9.7% of patients prescribed lithium developed dementia, compared with 11.2% in those not taking it.

This is even though conditions such as bipolar disorder are strongly associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia.

The charities today said it is important for researchers to urgently follow up with the findings, as there is no single drug proven to prevent dementia.

Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK, claiming the memories of 900,000 Britons.

Nearly 5 million people in the US are also living with a disorder that has taken academics decades to get rid of.

Many other scientific papers have identified lithium as a promising substance in the search for ways to combat memory loss.

Lithium is found naturally in vegetables, grains and in very low concentrations in water supplies.

British scientists have found that patients prescribed the mood stabilizer lithium have a lower rate of dementia diagnosis than other patients despite an increased risk of developing the memory-robbing disorder higher. This could open the door for further trials to see if the metal can help reduce dementia risk.

At higher levels, it is sometimes prescribed on the NHS as a treatment for a variety of mood disorders, such as mania, depression and bipolar.

Scientists examined the medical records of 29,618 people over the age of 50 who had access to mental health services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

None of the participants – who were followed for up to 14 years – had mild cognitive impairment or dementia when the study began.

About 550 patients were prescribed lithium, allowing experts to compare whether the drug reduces dementia risk.

The results have been published in the journal Plos Medicine.

The study’s lead author, Dr Shanquan Chen, said the finding was surprising, as people with bipolar disorder were at greater risk of developing dementia.

“It’s too early to say for sure, but it’s possible that lithium may reduce the risk of dementia in people with bipolar disorder,” he said.

But the study was small, and larger experiments are needed to piece together any links.

Dr Sara Imarisio, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “New treatments for dementia are urgently needed.

‘When there is evidence that an existing, widely used, relatively safe and inexpensive drug could help, it is important for researchers to track this down as quickly as possible.’

Medics aren’t exactly sure how protective metals might be.

Some have suggested that lithium might inhibit enzymes responsible for forming toxic proteins that accumulate in the brain due to Alzheimer’s disease and cause brain cells to die.

It comes after a study of 800,000 people in Denmark in 2017 found that people who drank water with high concentrations of the metal had a 17% lower risk of developing dementia.

However, the results were not clear, with people in the moderate exposure group having a 22% higher risk of developing dementia than those in the low exposure group.

Some experts have said that when it comes to drinking water, other factors like calcium can play a role.

Lithium should only be prescribed because the dosage is unique to each patient. Drinking too much can cause life-threatening problems with organs like the kidneys.

Source: | This article originally belonged to Dailymail.co.uk