Trace lithium levels in drinking water and risk of dementia: a systematic review.

Background: Since its debut in 1949, lithium (Li) has been regarded as a gold standard therapy for mood stabilization. Neuroprotective effects of Li  have been replicated across many different paradigms ranging from tissue cultures to human studies. This has generated interest in potentially repurposing this drug.

Lithium Prevents Telomere Shortening in Cortical Neurons in Amyloid-Beta Induced Toxicity.

Background: There is consistent evidence of the potential benefits of lithium attenuating mechanisms of neurodegeneration, including those related to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and facilitating neurotrophic and protective responses, including maintenance of telomere length. The aim was to investigate the protective effect of the pre-treatment with lithium on amyloid-beta (Aβ)-induced toxicity and telomere length in neurons.

Methods: Cortical neurons were treated with lithium chloride at therapeutic and subtherapeutic concentrations (2 mM, 0.

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

Background: Lithium has neuroprotective effects in animal models of stroke, but benefits in humans remain uncertain. This article aims to systematically review the available evidence of the neuroprotective and regenerative effects of lithium in animal models of stroke, as well as in observational and trial stroke studies in humans.

Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of lithium-treated older adults with bipolar disorder.

Objectives: There is limited information on the characteristics of older adults with bipolar disorder (OABD) treated with lithium, along with safety concerns about its use by older adults. The aim of the present study is to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of OABD receiving lithium therapy, using data from the Global Ageing & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder (GAGE-BD).

Experimental Procedures: Cross-sectional analysis of the GAGE-BD dataset to determine differences and similarities between lithium users and non-users.

Medical cannabinoids for treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia: a systematic review.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are an integral component of the natural history of dementia, occurring from prodromal to advanced stages of the disease process and causing increased burden and morbidity. Clinical presentations are pleomorphic and clinical management often requires combinations of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. However, limited efficacy and a non-negligible incidence of adverse psychotropic drug events emphasize the need for novel therapeutic options.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease: Therapeutic implications of lithium.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by the accumulation of abnormal tau proteins within neurons and amyloid plaques in the brain parenchyma, which leads to progressive loss of neurons in the brain. While the detailed mechanism of the pathogenesis of AD is still unknown, evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction likely plays a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Due to the relevance of mitochondrial alterations in AD, recent works have suggested the therapeutic potential of mitochondrial-targeted lithium.

Changes in motor cortical excitability in schizophrenia following transcranial direct current stimulation.

Schizophrenia is a disorder associated with cortical inhibition deficits. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces changes in cortical excitability in healthy subjects and individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders depending on the stimulation parameters. Our aim was to investigate whether a previously published tDCS protocol associated with symptomatic improvement in schizophrenia would induce changes in motor cortical excitability, assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigms, i.

Relevance of gutmicrobiota in cognition, behaviour and Alzheimer's disease.

Approximately 95% of the symbiotic microbes in human body are located in the gut. This microbioma is involved in important homeostatic processes, not only related to gastrointestinal function but also to several complex modulatory processes, such as glucose and bone metabolism, inflammation and immune response, peripheral (enteric) and central neurotransmission. For that reason, recent studies proposed that abnormalities in gut microbiota may play a role in systemic and central nervous system (CNS) conditions.

Anti-dementia medications: current prescriptions in clinical practice and new agents in progress.

Almost three decades after the publication of the first clinical studies with tacrine, the pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a challenge. Randomized clinical trials have yielded evidence of significant - although modest and transient - benefit from cholinergic replacement therapy for people diagnosed with AD, and disease modification with antidementia compounds is still an urgent, unmet need. The natural history of AD is very long, and its pharmacological treatment must acknowledge different needs according to the stage of the disease process.

Effects of a multidisciplinary cognitive rehabilitation program for patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program on cognition, quality of life, and neuropsychiatry symptoms in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Method: The present study was a single-blind, controlled study that was conducted at a university-based day-hospital memory facility. The study included 25 Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers and involved a 12-week stimulation and psychoeducational program.