Lithium, Alzheimer Disease, and a Turning Point in Mental Health Care

Alzheimer disease (AD) remains one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine. It is a black hole that consumes memory, independence, dignity, and time. Despite decades of research and over $42 billion invested since the 1990s,¹ the failure rate associated with mainstream AD therapeutics has hovered near 100%.² Even the newest interventions offer only modest delays in decline, not prevention or cure.

On August 6, 2025, however, the conversation shifted. Nature published a groundbreaking paper, “Lithium Deficiency and the Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease,” from researchers in Boston and Chicago.³ Their findings have profound implications not only for AD research, but for the future of mental health care.

Lithium: An Old Mineral, a New Frontier

Lithium is one of the oldest elements in the universe—present in our soil, water, food chain, and the tissues of most vertebrate organisms.^4,5 Since ancient times, it has been recognized for its stabilizing effects on mood.^6,7 For more than a century, lithium carbonate has been a gold-standard treatment for bipolar disorder.⁸

But lithium’s potential extends beyond bipolar illness. Epidemiological studies have long demonstrated that regions with higher natural lithium concentrations in drinking water have lower rates of suicide and dementia.^9-17 Clinical trials, whether using high-dose pharmaceutical lithium or low-dose nutritional forms, have consistently shown neuroprotective effects—even in patients with AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).^18-21

In my clinical practice, I have spent over 30 years studying and applying low-dose lithium to support cognitive health, stabilize mood, and prevent suicide. I explored this in my book Nutritional Lithium: A Cinderella Story and in my 2024 Psychiatric Times article, “Low-Dose Lithium: A New Frontier in Mental Health Treatment.” At the time, many regarded these ideas with skepticism.

The new Nature study validates what functional and integrative psychiatrists have observed for decades: lithium is a micronutrient that is absolutely essential for brain health.

The Breakthrough Findings

The research team behind the Nature study found that lithium levels in the brains of patients with MCI and AD were significantly lower than those of healthy controls. Even more striking, synapse-choking plaques of amyloid-beta peptides—1 of the 2 hallmark lesions of AD—were shown to bind lithium, further depleting levels in surrounding brain tissue.

Animal studies later confirmed that lithium deficiency worsens the formation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles (intracellular “tangles” of tau protein are the second of the 2 hallmark AD brain lesions), accelerates memory loss, and impairs neuronal health.³ Conversely, restoring lithium—in, specifically, the form of low-dose lithium orotate—reduced plaques and tangles, preserved memory, and achieved near total prevention of age-related neurodegenerative changes. Importantly, these benefits were achieved without the adverse effects on kidney and thyroid function often associated with higher-dose lithium carbonate.

A New Era in Psychiatry

The implications here are profound. For decades, mainstream medicine has pursued “magic bullets” for AD, with disappointing results. The Nature study underscores that addressing nutritional deficiencies—in this case, lithium—may be equally or more important.

As Bruce Yankner, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School noted, “What impresses me the most about lithium is the widespread effect it has on the various manifestations of Alzheimer’s. I really have not seen anything quite like it.”²²

This recognition is not about saying “I told you so” but rather about gratitude. Gratitude that science is catching up to what decades of research, functional psychiatry practice, and clinical observation have suggested: lithium, in safe, nutritional doses, is one of nature’s most powerful allies for mental wellness.

My hope is that this achievement marks a turning point, where traditional and functional psychiatry converge around evidence-based, individualized care. Lithium’s story spans 13.8 billion years.⁴ Today, it opens into a new chapter—one filled with hope for patients, families, and the future of mental health.

Dr Greenblatt is the chief medical officer of Psychiatry Redefined, an online educational platform for integrative and functional psychiatry.

References

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22. Lithium loss ignites Alzheimer's, but lithium compound can reverse disease in mice. Medical Xpress. Accessed August 21, 2025. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/lithium-loss-ignites-alzheimers-but-lithium-compound-can-reverse-disease-in-mice/ar-AA1K1Krj