CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Buck Institute research suggests lithium may be effective in treating Parkinson's disease

Marin Independent Journal (CA) - 7/30/2015

July 29--Researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging are continuing their investigation into the potential usefulness of lithium in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

New research by Buck scientists published online in Brain Research shows that low doses of lithium administered to laboratory mice reduced involuntary motor movements, a troubling side effect of the medication most commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease.

Prior to the lithium dosing, the mice were given a drug -- sold under the name Sinemet -- that is used to boost levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is lost in Parkinson's disease. While Sinemet is the most effective treatment for managing Parkinson's disease symptoms, long-term use causes abnormal involuntary movements.

"For patients, these side effects are just as devastating as the freezing that is associated with PD," said senior Buck scientist Julie Andersen, who oversees the lab doing the lithium research, in a statement. "In our mice we saw significant behavioral improvement."

Andersen's research has focused on lithium as a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease as well as its effectiveness when combined with drugs used to control the symptoms of the disease. Two previous studies conducted by Anderson's lab found that low doses of lithium prevented symptoms of Parkinson's disease in mice genetically engineered to develop the disease.

"We clearly saw a prevention of the motor difficulties we would expect to see in the animals," Andersen said in a release. "The treatment also protected the area of the brain that is normally damaged by Parkinson's."

Unlike most medications, lithium is a naturally occurring element, not a developed molecule. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its use for treating bipolar disorder in 1970, and it has proven effective for treating mood disorders and suicidal thoughts. Studies have suggested that low doses of lithium also have a protective effect in other neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

In the new study, mice received a dose of lithium equivalent to about a quarter of what humans receive for treatment of psychiatric diseases. That is important because high doses of lithium have been linked to hyperthyroidism and kidney damage.

The Parkinson's Study Group, a not-for-profit network of Parkinson's centers, has expressed interest in initiating a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of low doses of lithium in treating Parkinson's disease, said Buck Institute spokeswoman Kris Rebillot.

Dr. David Simon, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School who chairs the Parkinson's Study Group's scientific review committee, said lithium's effectiveness in treating Parkinson's disease should be tested in clinical trials even though other agents that produced encouraging results in mice failed to show benefit in clinical studies.

___

(c)2015 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.)

Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News