Previous studies on rodents have shown that lithium provides neuroprotective effects. The authors have used magnetic resonance imaging in the study of human brains on lithium treatment. Four weeks of treatment resulted in an increase in the amount of gray matter in the brains. The increase in gray matter was about 3%.
CONCLUSION: Lithium has been used in humans for 50 years for the treatment of bipolar depression. Lithium has neuroprotective properties in animals. The authors call for further study to see if lithium should be used for other disorders.
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PMID: 11072948.
Summary 029.
