Posted on 04/11/2022 9:53:16 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Best known therapeutically as a treatment for bipolar disorder, lithium has long intrigued researchers with its potential age-defying properties.
The element has been shown in lab experiments to extend the lifespan of fruit flies and roundworms, while observational studies have suggested tap water naturally laced with trace amounts of lithium might improve human longevity.
Researchers at The University of Toledo have recently found that low-dose lithium acts as a powerful anti-aging agent in the kidneys.
However, researchers have found that one of the major molecular targets of lithium is GSK3-beta—an enzyme that is associated with cellular aging in the kidney and a decline in kidney function.
Researchers then used lithium chloride to inhibit GSK3-beta, which achieved similar results. Mice had lower levels of albuminuria, or protein in the urine, improved kidney function and less cellular deficiency compared to a control group.
To further validate their findings, researchers also reviewed a group of psychiatric patients to assess their kidney health. Laboratory tests showed individuals who had received long-term treatment with lithium carbonate had better functioning kidneys than those who had not received lithium treatments, despite comparable age and comorbidities.
Though inexpensive and widely available, Gong said lithium has developed a bit of a bad reputation because of its potential toxicity—including to the kidneys—in high doses.
"One of the pitfalls of lithium as a psychiatric medication is that the therapeutic window is very narrow. Because of the blood-brain barrier, the effective psychiatric dose for lithium is very close to the toxic dose," Gong said. "But you only need a really small dose to produce the anti-aging effect in other organs."
Evidence from the UToledo study suggests less than one-third of the usual psychiatric dose can block GSK3-beta activity in the kidney, which is far below the dose at which toxicity occurs.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
As we age, our body fills with cells and proteins that do not work right, yet, are not able to be removed, because those processes are also broken. The cells fill up space and are minimally alive, but produce almost nothing of use. Much of this is due to the cells’ energy producers, mitochondria, no longer properly working.
Does it work if pstient is not bipolar?
So we can extend our lives by occasionally snacking on old laptop batteries ?
Lithium supplements are available Over The Counter, but know that the dose these researchers are describing appears to be under 100 mg a day.
It appears a 300 mg dose is given to bipolar patients, but note the dose is very close to a dangerous level, otherwise, so keep the dose low.
Is that the same Lithium used to make electric car batteries? I thought there was a shortage of lithium.
“It appears a 300 mg dose is given to bipolar patients”
That’s considered the minimum therapeutic dose, the usual dose varies between 300-900 mg. They really go by the blood levels since people excrete it at different rates.
Low dose lithium, which I take almost every day, is 5 mg in the orotate or aspartate form that are well absorbed in the human body. It is not only the kidneys but also the brain that are protected by low dose lithium. High dose lithium carbonate, which has been used as a psychiatric drug since the 1940s, is not well absorbed, which is the reason for the high dose. I don’t know about the physiology of lithium chloride, or whether it has any proper medicinal use.
They put it in the balloons and you breathe it and it makes you talk funny.
Fisetin removes them.
Do you have a dose suggestion? 5 mgs doesn’t seem like much.
Until more comes out, I would keep it conservative. There are people who have problems with the 5 mg net lithium amount.
All Crazy Water does for you is make you crap.
Thanks
Why use Lithium carbonate, use Lithium orotate, it is not dangerous.
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