Lithium is best known for powering batteries, but it also plays a role in the human body. Research suggests it may support brain health and help with conditions such as stroke, dementia, and cancer.

Stroke Recovery

Studies on animals and humans showed that lithium helped to reduce the size of a stroke injury, improve movement, and memory. In people with bipolar disorder who have been treated with lithium, the stroke risk was 29% lower compared to patients who were not taking lithium.

Mechanism

When damage happens, the body releases pro-inflammatory cytokines. The excess of those cytokines can cause damage to neurons. Lithium can slow down the overreaction. Additionally, lithium is believed to boost the BDNF protein, which helps to repair neurons. 

Dementia

Studies with human tissues showed that lithium depletion has a strong correlation with cognitive decline. Additionally, giving lithium to mice restored their cognitive functions. 

“We found that when we administered lithium orotate to aging mice [that had] started losing their memory, the lithium orotate actually reverted their memory to the young adult, six-month level,” said Dr. Bruce Yankner, a researcher whose paper about lithium potential has been recently published in Nature.

Studies in people with bipolar disorder showed that lithium treatment decreased the risk for dementia by 49% and restored patients' hippocampus volume to that of healthy controls. 

Mechanism

Dementia damages the hippocampus, a brain region that is critical for memory, learning, and emotional regulation. One of the mechanisms is the buildup of harmful plaques in the brain that prevent neurons from functioning normally. Lithium showed it can reverse that damage and potentially improve memory when given in small, sub-therapeutic doses.

Cancer

Large population studies suggest that people living in areas with higher lithium levels in drinking water may have lower cancer rates. This pattern was observed across men and women, different regions of the U.S., and individuals who had lived in the same location for many years.

Mechanism

Researchers suggest that lithium interacts with enzymes involved in cell growth and survival, such as GSK-3β and inositol monophosphatase. Both of the enzymes are also involved in pathways linked to cancer development.

Scientific Sources:

• Lithium and Stroke Recovery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Stroke Models in Rodents and Human Data

• Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease

• Risk of dementia in bipolar disorder and the interplay of lithium: a systematic review and meta-analyses

• Lithium effects on Hippocampus volumes in patients with bipolar disorder

• Effects of Lithium Ascorbate Intake in Middle‑Aged Patients with Stenotic Atherosclerosis of the Brachiocephalic Arteries 

• Cancer Risk and Estimated Lithium Exposure in Drinking Groundwater in the US

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• Lithium Is Essential For Human Health