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MCI/Alzheimer's Helping? - Report Your LiO Effects +/-
After reading the 2025 Harvard Medical School summary and the actual Nature article on the full study, my wife and I are taking Lithium Orotate (aka LiO). We're noticing benefits and are interested in hearing from others about their experiences.
There's already an excellent discussion here on this general topic, but I'm hoping those of us trying low-dose LiO can collaborate on sharing our experiences. Whether it's definitely helping, no effect, adverse effects, etc. While the formal controlled trials are getting under way, I'm seeing enough benefit already that I'm hoping this informal anecdotal discussion can help in the meantime.
If there's interest in this new topic, we can also start posting related links.
Note from the Community Director
Study shows for the first time that lithium plays an essential role in normal brain function and can confer resistance to brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists discovered that lithium is depleted in the brain by binding to toxic amyloid plaques — revealing a new way Alzheimer’s may begin.
A new class of lithium-based compounds avoids plaque binding and reverses Alzheimer’s and brain aging in mice, without toxicity.
A few limited clinical trials of lithium for Alzheimer’s disease have shown some efficacy, but the lithium compounds they used — such as the clinical standard, lithium carbonate — can be toxic to aging people at the high doses normally used in the clinic. Read more: https://hms.harvard.edu/news/could-lithium-explain-treat-alzheimers-disease
All information shared by members on the Mayo Clinic Connect is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the community.
Talk to your doctor before taking over-the-counter supplement lithium orotate. It is not a regulated substance. Compounds may vary.
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Amazing!
Please let us know the results from your wife’s next neurologist appointment.
My wife has had significant short-term memory issues today, and my mild tremor may be getting worse. I'm wondering if it might be Lithium toxicity, or effects from it actually working by clearing Tau and/or amyloid. So today I've dropped our LiO dose to 1mg before breakfast & 1mg before bed. I'd also started her on 2mg Magtein at bedtime yesterday, so of course am wondering if that's a factor. I've decided to stay with that tonight to minimize variables and see what the neurologist has to say about it all tomorrow. I'm hoping to get blood tests for both of us for P-tau217 & Lithium (her P-tau earlier this year may shed light on our LiO effects). I'll also request prescriptions for LiO to increase the chance that's the actual contents and dose of our regimen.
All of this will probably be quite annoying for him, given the important Hippocratic oath to "do no harm." Obviously my concern is harm due to doing nothing when the supplements involved have good long-term safety records and -might- possibly delay or slow decline while new trials are in process.
sigh...
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2 Reactions@fletchette
What dose did they suggest?
@nb14 "What dose..."
No clue about the Yankner study. 🙁
I commented that he's apparently more experienced than our excellent (tho had only recommended against the two approved "slowing of decline" drugs, no mention of '25 Harvard study that we'd not heard of then). Anyway, his reply was he's just been a neurologist longer. The one thing he got excited about was when I mentioned having started us on coffee, tea and chocolate right after her diagnosis due to reading that the alkaloids can be helpful. So far starting that regime has had by far the biggest beneficial effect. Sadly it's gradually declining.
Having been overwhelmed with other stuff (including hacked phones), I've only logged in tonite to mention a 9/2024 MRI study on how to image Li in situ at our dose levels:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032724008723
Maybe you've all already seen it, but wanted to mention in case anyone can get a prescription for it to do baseline and progressive images seeking LiO effects.
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2 ReactionsMy "...than our excellent..." above was meant to end with: "first and younger excellent neurologist whom we'd been seeing for my wife's MS."
(I'm kinda tired tonite)
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Very interesting study from 2024. I had not seen it.
Strangely, they could not detect the normal Li level in the brain.
I doubt they could distinguish between available Li in the brain and sequestered Li.
One participant said he would continue taking LiO because it gave him a feeling of well being.
Two subjects had much higher Li levels in their brain than the others. They hypothesized this was due to different effects in their stomachs, perhaps pH.
Another company recently developed a sort of MRI helmet to give a 3d scan of brain lithium specifically to test a drug designed to more efficiently send Li to the brain for bipolar disorder.
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