In the 1880s, a newly dug well in Texas became known as the “Crazy Well” after a woman who drank from it daily allegedly overcame dementia. Her legendary recovery has since been suggested to be due to the naturally occurring lithium in the area’s groundwater. This lithium-containing “Crazy Water” is still available to buy in the local town of Mineral Wells.
Strange as it may seem, the idea that lithium, a simple metal, might have a role in treating and/or preventing dementia is starting to gain traction. Starting next month, lithium orotate, a type of lithium salt, will be tested for the first time in people with early Alzheimer’s disease in a at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. This comes on the back of research published last year by at Harvard University and his colleagues showing that lithium orotate reversed memory loss in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia.
Yankner’s team also found that the brains of people who died of Alzheimer’s disease had lower levels of lithium than those who didn’t have any cognitive impairment when they died. And earlier this year, a study of more than 2000 US counties led by at Baylor University in Texas revealed that counties with low levels of naturally occurring lithium in their public water supplies had than those with high lithium levels in the water.
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These findings don’t prove a causal link between lithium deficiency and dementia; however, they are certainly intriguing, and they have inspired many people to rush out and buy lithium supplements. Is it too early to jump on this bandwagon? And are there any risks of boosting your lithium levels with supplements?
Lithium is the lightest metal element on Earth and is named after the Greek word lithos for “stone” because it naturally occurs in rocks. It is best known for its use in rechargeable batteries, but also has a , particularly in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Interestingly, the soft drink 7UP as a lithium-containing lemon-lime-flavoured beverage marketed for curing hangovers and boosting energy. No one knows why “7” was included in the name, but one theory is that it referred to the approximate atomic mass of lithium.
Since lithium is highly reactive, it is usually paired with other substances like orotate or carbonate to form lithium salts. Lithium carbonate is the type typically prescribed for bipolar disorder. However, Yankner’s team found that lithium orotate was far better for treating Alzheimer’s-like disease in mice. This was thought to be because lithium orotate is less likely to be taken up by amyloid plaques – the abnormal clumps of protein in Alzheimer’s-affected brains – leaving more lithium available in the healthy parts of the brain.
We still don’t know exactly how lithium protects against neurodegeneration, but one mechanism seems to involve the fact that it inhibits an enzyme called glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3 beta). have found that blocking this enzyme reduces the build-up of amyloid plaques and helps to regulate inflammation.
So far, only lithium carbonate has been investigated for slowing cognitive decline in humans. The latest trial, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, disappointingly found of taking a daily lithium carbonate pill for two years in adults aged 60 and over with early signs of memory loss. I hope, and I’m sure many others do too, that the upcoming trial of lithium orotate will be more successful, but we won’t know the results for years because the trial is scheduled to run until 2029.
In the meantime, lithium orotate supplements are already available to buy, leading some people to try to get ahead of the curve and start taking them now just in case they are eventually proven to work.
Caution is warranted, however, because taking too much lithium can cause side effects like tremors, thirst, nausea and headache, as well as thyroid and kidney toxicity. In Yankner’s study, the dose of lithium that was given to mice was much lower than the lithium dose typically prescribed in bipolar treatment, so it is hoped that similar “microdoses” might ward off neurodegeneration in people too. However, no studies have examined the long-term safety of lithium orotate supplementation, even in low doses. There is also no agreed definition of lithium deficiency or standard test for it, so there is no way to know if your levels are too low.
Beyond its potential role in preserving cognition, lithium may also reduce the risk of suicide and committing crimes. A Lithuanian study found that municipalities with high levels of lithium in their drinking water had than those with low lithium levels, after adjusting for socioeconomic factors. Another study found that people who died of suicide had than those who died of other causes. In Japan, meanwhile, municipalities with high levels of lithium in the water have been found to have after adjusting for employment rates and age. More research is required, though, to confirm a causal link.
Personally, I think I’ll wait for the results of the clinical trial of lithium orotate to come out before I consider taking supplements. But if I ever find myself in Texas, I will definitely stop in at Mineral Wells for a big glass of Crazy Water.
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