Are you worried about developing dementia as you age?

Do you wonder if there are simple steps you could take to protect your brain health?

Recent groundbreaking research has uncovered a surprising connection between a common mineral and dementia prevention that could change how we think about brain aging.

Scientists have discovered that lithium deficiency may be one of the earliest triggers of Alzheimer’s disease, and maintaining adequate levels of this mineral could offer significant protection against cognitive decline [1].

This discovery challenges our understanding of what causes dementia and opens new possibilities for prevention and treatment.

The findings suggest that something as fundamental as a mineral deficiency could set the stage for the devastating brain changes we see in Alzheimer’s disease.

What Is Lithium and Why Does It Matter for Brain Health?

Lithium is a naturally occurring mineral that most people know as a treatment for bipolar disorder. However, recent research has revealed that lithium exists naturally in our brains at trace levels and plays a crucial role in maintaining normal brain function [2].

Unlike the high doses used to treat psychiatric conditions, the brain requires only tiny amounts of lithium to function properly.

This mineral acts like a nutrient that our brains need to stay healthy, similar to how we need iron or vitamin C for other bodily functions. Dr. Bruce Yankner, a professor of genetics and neurology at Harvard Medical School, explains that “lithium turns out to be like other nutrients we get from the environment, such as iron and vitamin C.

It’s the first time anyone’s shown that lithium exists at a natural level that’s biologically meaningful without giving it as a drug” [2].

The discovery that lithium brain health is connected to natural mineral levels represents a major shift in our understanding. For decades, researchers focused on lithium as a powerful psychiatric medication, but they missed its fundamental role as a brain nutrient.

This oversight may have delayed our understanding of how mineral deficiencies contribute to age-related cognitive decline.

What makes this finding particularly important is that lithium appears to protect all major types of brain cells. Unlike treatments that target specific aspects of dementia, lithium seems to provide comprehensive brain protection.

This broad protective effect could explain why lithium shows promise for dementia prevention in ways that other treatments have not achieved.

Groundbreaking Research Links Lithium Deficiency to Alzheimer’s Disease

The Nature Study That Changed Everything

A landmark study published in Nature in August 2025 has fundamentally changed how scientists view the relationship between lithium and Alzheimer’s prevention [1].

This research, led by Dr. Liviu Aron and Dr. Bruce Yankner at Harvard Medical School, represents 10 years of intensive investigation into lithium’s role in brain health.

The researchers made a startling discovery: of all the metals they analyzed in human brain tissue, lithium was the only one significantly reduced in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often precedes Alzheimer’s disease.

This finding suggests that lithium deficiency occurs very early in the disease process, potentially before other symptoms appear.

The study examined brain tissue from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, which maintains a bank of donated brain tissue from thousands of participants across the full spectrum of cognitive health.

Dr. Yankner explains the importance of studying early-stage tissue: “Trying to study the brain in the late stages of Alzheimer’s is like looking at a battlefield after a war.

There’s a lot of damage and it’s hard to tell how it all started. But in the early stages, before the brain is badly damaged, you can get important clues” [2].

The research revealed that lithium bioavailability becomes further reduced in Alzheimer’s disease through a process called amyloid sequestration.

Essentially, the toxic amyloid-beta proteins that accumulate in Alzheimer’s disease bind to lithium, trapping it and preventing it from performing its protective functions in the brain.

How Lithium Deficiency Triggers Brain Changes

The study went beyond simply observing lithium deficiency to demonstrate how this deficiency directly contributes to Alzheimer’s disease development.

When researchers fed healthy mice a lithium-restricted diet, reducing their brain lithium levels by approximately 50%, the results were dramatic and concerning [1].

The lithium-deficient mice experienced a cascade of brain changes that mirror those seen in Alzheimer’s disease:

• Increased amyloid-beta deposition: The toxic proteins that form plaques in Alzheimer’s disease accumulated more rapidly
• Phospho-tau accumulation: Another hallmark protein of Alzheimer’s disease increased significantly
• Microglial activation: Brain immune cells became overactive and inflammatory
• Synaptic loss: Connections between brain cells deteriorated
• Myelin damage: The protective coating around nerve fibers was compromised
• Accelerated cognitive decline: Memory and learning abilities declined faster than normal

These effects were mediated through the activation of a protein called GSK3β, which plays a key role in Alzheimer’s disease development.

When lithium levels drop, GSK3β becomes overactive, triggering the harmful cascade of events that leads to brain degeneration.

Dr. Yankner expressed amazement at lithium’s comprehensive effects: “What impresses me the most about lithium is the widespread effect it has on the various manifestations of Alzheimer’s. I really have not seen anything quite like it all my years of working on this disease” [2].

The research also used advanced single-nucleus RNA sequencing to show that lithium deficiency causes gene expression changes in multiple brain cell types that overlap significantly with the changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease.

This molecular evidence strongly supports the idea that lithium deficiency is not just associated with dementia but actually contributes to causing it.

Population Studies Show Protective Effects of Lithium

While laboratory studies provide crucial insights into how lithium decreases dementia risk, population studies offer real-world evidence of its protective effects.

A comprehensive study published in PLOS Medicine in 2022 analyzed data from nearly 30,000 patients in the UK healthcare system, providing compelling evidence for lithium’s protective benefits [3].

The researchers followed 29,618 patients aged 50 and older for up to 15 years, comparing those who received lithium treatment (548 patients) with those who did not. The results were striking and consistent across different types of dementia:

These numbers represent substantial protection against cognitive decline. The study found that people taking lithium had a 44% lower risk of developing any form of dementia compared to those not taking the mineral. The protection was even stronger for vascular dementia, with a 64% risk reduction.

Importantly, the protective effects appeared in both short-term and long-term lithium users. People who used lithium for one year or less still showed protection, while those who used it for more than five years showed evidence of additional benefits. This suggests that lithium Alzheimer’s prevention may work relatively quickly but becomes more effective with longer exposure.

The study’s authors concluded: “We observed an association between lithium use and a decreased risk of developing dementia. This lends further support to the idea that lithium may be a disease-modifying treatment for dementia and that this is a promising treatment to take forwards to larger randomised controlled trials for this indication” [3].

These population-level findings align with previous observations that areas with higher natural lithium levels in drinking water tend to have lower rates of dementia.

Multiple studies from different countries have found this pattern, suggesting that even trace amounts of environmental lithium may provide some protection against cognitive decline.

The Science Behind Lithium’s Neuroprotective Effects

Understanding how lithium brain health protection works helps explain why this mineral shows such promise for dementia prevention.

Research has identified several key mechanisms through which lithium protects brain cells and maintains cognitive function.

Synaptic Protection: Lithium helps preserve the connections between brain cells called synapses. These connections are essential for memory formation and cognitive function, and their loss is one of the earliest changes in Alzheimer’s disease. Lithium promotes the growth of dendrites (the branch-like extensions of neurons) and helps maintain synaptic strength.

Anti-inflammatory Effects: Chronic brain inflammation contributes significantly to dementia development. Lithium reduces the activation of microglia, the brain’s immune cells, preventing them from releasing harmful inflammatory substances. This anti-inflammatory action helps protect brain tissue from damage.

Myelin Preservation: The recent Nature study showed that lithium deficiency leads to loss of myelin, the protective coating around nerve fibers [1]. Maintaining adequate lithium levels helps preserve this crucial insulation, ensuring that nerve signals can travel efficiently throughout the brain.

Cellular Energy Support: Lithium supports mitochondrial function, helping brain cells produce the energy they need to survive and function properly. This is particularly important for neurons, which have very high energy requirements.

Clinical Implications and Future Treatment Possibilities

The discovery of lithium’s role in dementia prevention has opened exciting new treatment possibilities.

The Harvard research team identified a specific lithium compound called lithium orotate that can evade capture by amyloid-beta proteins [2].

This compound showed remarkable effectiveness in mouse studies at doses 1,000 times lower than those typically used to treat bipolar disorder.

This low-dose approach addresses one of the main concerns about using lithium for dementia prevention: safety.

Traditional lithium treatments can cause side effects, particularly in older adults.

However, the doses needed for brain protection appear to be much lower and safer. Mice treated with lithium orotate for nearly their entire adult lives showed no evidence of toxicity.

The research suggests several potential clinical applications:

Early Screening: Measuring lithium levels in blood or brain tissue could help identify people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear. This would allow for early intervention when treatments are most likely to be effective.

Prevention Strategy: For people at high risk of dementia, maintaining adequate lithium levels through supplementation or dietary sources could provide protection against cognitive decline.

Treatment Approach: Unlike current Alzheimer’s treatments that target specific aspects of the disease, lithium appears to address multiple pathways simultaneously, potentially offering more comprehensive benefits.

What This Means for Dementia Prevention

The emerging research on lithium and dementia risk represents a significant shift in how we think about brain aging and cognitive decline.

Rather than viewing Alzheimer’s disease as an inevitable consequence of aging, these findings suggest that maintaining proper mineral balance could help preserve cognitive function throughout life.

However, it’s important to note that while the research is promising, clinical trials in humans are still needed to confirm these findings.

The studies conducted so far provide strong evidence for lithium’s protective effects, but researchers emphasize the need for controlled human trials before making specific treatment recommendations.

Dr. Yankner expresses cautious optimism about the future: “My hope is that lithium will do something more fundamental than anti-amyloid or anti-tau therapies, not just lessening but reversing cognitive decline and improving people’s lives” [2].

For now, people concerned about dementia prevention should focus on established protective factors like regular exercise, healthy diet, social engagement, and managing cardiovascular risk factors.

As research progresses, lithium-based treatments may become an important addition to our toolkit for maintaining brain health and preventing cognitive decline.

The discovery that something as simple as a mineral deficiency could contribute to Alzheimer’s disease offers hope that effective prevention and treatment strategies may be within reach.

As clinical trials move forward, we may soon have new options for protecting our brains and preserving our cognitive abilities as we age.

References

[1] Aron, L., Ngian, Z.K., Qiu, C., et al. (2025). Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09335-x

[2] Dutchen, S. (2025). Could Lithium Explain — and Treat — Alzheimer’s Disease? Harvard Medical School News. https://hms.harvard.edu/news/could-lithium-explain-treat-alzheimers-disease

[3] Chen, S., Underwood, B.R., Jones, P.B., et al. (2022). Association between lithium use and the incidence of dementia and its subtypes: A retrospective cohort study. PLOS Medicine, 19(3), e1003941. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8929585/