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New intel re Lithium Orotate
I have discussed previously that I have mild cognitive dysfunction and after two rounds of neuropsych testing over two years and Lab & imaging testing confirming my clinical profile, I am taking Lithium Orotate as a nutritional supplement. But I consume professional intel on studies religiously. Like this one.
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/lecanemab-or-lithium-compare-benefits-risks-and-dose
The key question that stood out to me which the physician author (Dr Phelps) asks in his review of studies is below. I highly emcourage reading this. You have to follow some links and jump back and forth a bit but make the effort. For those of you fond of calculating elemental lithium there is a section on calculating equivalent dosing to the mice study.
“Brain lithium prevents amyloid plaque formation and phosphorylation of tau proteins. In the process of AD dementia, lithium is sequestered in plaques, creating a positive feedback loop: more plaque, less lithium, leading to more plaque, and so on. Giving lithium orotate to young adult mice almost completely prevented plaque formation and tau phosphorylation. Starting lithium orotate after plaques and phosphorylated tau have already formed almost completely reversed the expected cognitive impairment. Lithium carbonate is far less effective. If all this were true in humans, lithium orotate would be an obvious treatment both to prevent AD dementia and to treat it once detected.
Of course, skeptics’ first response has been “these are mouse data.” Aron et al point out that lithium levels in human and mouse brains are comparable, supporting the relevance of mouse models for studying the biological effects of lithium. Skeptics, including a prominent neurologist following a national presentation on AD treatment, have said that we should wait for a randomized trial of lithium orotate in humans (personal communication, August 2025). But the recent lithium carbonate randomized trial took 8 years to mount and complete. What shall we suggest to patients and families for the next 8 years?
A healthy lifestyle—including a Mediterranean-like diet, regular physical activity, and avoidance of smoking, excessive alcohol, social isolation, sleep disorders, and hearing loss—is an important means of preserving cognitive function in people at risk of developing dementia.
The subsequent article will compare lecanemab and lithium’s benefits, risks, and costs. With ApoE genotyping and the new pTau/amyloid blood test, patients and families need help now deciding between treatment alternatives.”
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@pb50 thank you for your well-said response….timelines are important, no question…my own thinking has definitely been affected by my oncologist…who knows my personal chemistry quite well. Each to our own research and decisions…Wishing you all the best !
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1 Reaction@nycmusic many thanks for your kind reply.
@pb50, AI can be helpful as a start to find information. @blm1007blm1007 is quite right that answers will depend on what you ask. For this reason, Mayo provides guidance on using AI for health answers and posting on Mayo Clinic Connect. See this article:
- What is Generative AI? What does this mean on Mayo Clinic Connect?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/newsfeed-post/what-is-generative-ai-artificial-intelligence-what-does-this-mean-on-mayo-clinic-connect/
When you use Gemini on Google, you can include the link or reference the links used by Gemini that indicate the original source of the information.
Unfortunately, generative AI tools can sometimes generate plausible-sounding answers that are wrong. Thus it's crucial to fact check everything.
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3 ReactionsI started taking lithium orotate a couple of months ago thinking it would help with cognition. I found mself being incontinent. I had to wear heavy pads and urine poured out of me before I could get to the bathroom.
It puzzled me that this should come on so suddenly. I looed it up and read that the lithium orotate could cause bladder problems. I stopped taking the lithium orotate and the incontinence stopped. I'm an 84 year old female..
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8 Reactions@colleenyoung many thanks for- appreciate the reference!
@raebaby I am very glad you were able to connect the dots and stop the supplement. and for what it’s worth, if I was 84 and had enough wits to even consider a supplement for cognitive improvement, I would assume I only had age appropriate changes. You seem very bright to me! Enjoy!
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1 ReactionThank you! I just want to keep rolling along happy and heathy; that supplement certainly took me in an opposite direction!
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1 ReactionHi, Raebaby!
May I ask what dosage of the lithium orotate you were taking?
Colleen and others interested in the references reflected in the summary I posted on this topic, these are three primary sources cited. Others are not included for space considerations here.
Again the Gemini query was:
“As anti-amyloid medications reduce plasma levels of Amyloid, is that reflected in corresponding changes in plasma Aβ42/40 ratios?”
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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44411-025-00323-1
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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12280714/.
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Neurology. 2020 Mar 16;94(15):e1580–e1591. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009240
Total Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio in plasma predicts amyloid-PET status, independent of clinical AD diagnosis
James D Doecke 1, Virginia Pérez-Grijalba 1, Noelia Fandos 1, Christopher Fowler 1, Victor L Villemagne 1, Colin L Masters 1, Pedro Pesini 1,✉, Manuel Sarasa 1; for the AIBL Research Group1
Author information
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Copyright and License information
PMCID: PMC7251518 PMID: 32179698
Please do let me know how I might be more transparent about the basis and accuracy of my commentary.
I do not ask that anyone adopt or take actions based on my conclusions. I am only sharing with members of this community the results of my own probing. If it is not something you agree with, that is all good - you do you.
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4 Reactions@nat59 5mg once each night