About this Research Topic
We propose that the time is right to bring together papers, perspectives and reviews on the state of the art of lithium as a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disease, focusing on what are the missing pieces of evidence (mechanistic and clinical) required to justify randomized clinical trials, and what are the main barriers to the initiation of such trials on dementia with lithium.
We propose to cover what is known about the many molecular actions of lithium and evidence for target engagement associating with clinical efficacy from animal models and pre-clinical studies. We shall review the data from population studies on benefits of lithium on cognition and effects in the environment; discuss lessons from clinical trial using lithium in other neurological disorders, along with the pharmacogenetics of lithium response; question what biomarkers of lithium efficacy are feasible and appropriate (molecular and imaging); debate what dose of lithium would be both safe and required for target engagement in such trials, and in what trial population; and aim to address the real problems designing a clinical trial with lithium in each target population.
The overall aim is to challenge the somewhat entrenched negative attitude to the potential repurposing of lithium for neurodegenerative disease, but at the same time generate a database of impartial opinions on how one would go about safely testing the hypothesis that lithium could have clinical benefit in neurodegenerative disease.
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