I know this has been discussed on the forum before, but I think it deserves repeating as it seems, from studies, that attempting to quell memory loss early on is a critical point that can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure in trying to keep memory intact and functioning at a good level for as long as possible. Waiting too long to deal with memory issues, AD and dementia may push the issue past the point of no return.
On that note I will mention Lithium Orotate (LO) at very low dose (below 21 mg/day) as a potential long term memory aid. Many supplement manufacturers are now offering LO at 20 mg or less per capsule. These very low dose offerings appear to avoid the known and very significant side effects of lithium used at standard dosing in the 900 mg/day to 1200 mg/day range or higher, while apparently offering benefit in terms of protecting the current state of your memory as outlined in the link below. LO at these very low doses is inexpensive, easily available while having a much, much better safety profile than standard dose lithium and apparently can be effective if used early on in dementia and AD! Here is that link :
greatplainslaboratory.com/a...
Initially in this article, studies using lower dose LO (100 ~ 600 mg / day) appeared to show that LO was not effective for the intended purpose, but the studies had flaws and the patients were at advanced stages of dementia or AD, possibly too advanced to recover from. Interestingly, in a more recent study where ultra low dose lithium (less than 1 mg/day) was used in patients who were not at such advanced stages, the LO was able to stabilize the memory scores and with time (3 months into the one year study), LO was also able to improve the memory test scores in patients, something that is not common in dementia and PD! The only other supplement that I have seen that could increase memory test scores in dementia / AD was the ultra high dose probiotic mix of four very common and easily available probiotics that I previously posted about. In that study, patients were at advanced disease stages, but still managed improved memory test scores. One can only imagine what the two together might do considering that they both likely work via different methods of action. LO has also shown itself to be neuroprotective.
Here is a link to the probiotic study that showed positive results in just 12 weeks:
sciencedaily.com/releases/2...
The simplicity of LO is another plus, just one capsule per day.
The following link is a commentary by a psychiatrist who suggests that 5 mg per day should be adequate as a preventive, but possibly higher if there is a family history of dementia, but still a very low dose.
tmsbraincare.com/lithium-re...
The following two articles discusses even more benefits associated with low dose lithium (LDL) :
greatplainslaboratory.com/a...
geneticlifehacks.com/lithiu...
This next article is by Dr. Laurie Mischley and goes into great detail regarding lithium deficiency in Parkinson's disease :
digital.lib.washington.edu/...
Anyway, I thought this was worth mentioning for those on the forum who may have concerns about memory loss, dementia or AD for themselves, family and friends.
In any case, it is worth discussing with your doctor to see if it is something you can consider and to make sure it is compatible with all medications you may be taking.
Here is more information on LO that covers toxicity,adverse reactions, contraindications, history, dosing etc.
drugs.com/npp/lithium-orota...
Most members on this forum know that I am a believer in HDT/B-1 therapy and my main like about HDT is its potential to either slow or halt disease progression for an extended period of time while possibly improving existing PD symptoms. I tend to think of LO along that same line and just like HDT, it is not likely to work for everyone, but it is one of those things that just has to be tried in order to find out what, if anything, it can do for you. It is just like every med your neurologist, GP or movement disorder specialist prescribes for you, you take it and see how it works for you and if it doesn't workout, you move on to the next med, just as with supplements.
The reason that I have an interest in very low dose LO is because of a woman that I knew for decades who had dementia and her daughter started giving her LO at 5 mg per day, but she started after her mother's dementia had advanced fairly quickly. What I saw over about a 15 year period is that this woman's dementia seemed to stop progressing or very significantly slowed, which was a very significant and obvious change from the course that her dementia had previously taken. It is only an anecdotal report, but it definitely got my attention and has kept LO on my mind ever since. We all likely know somebody with dementia and perhaps this information may be worth sharing with someone you know and care about. Dementia is such a devastating disease for the individual as well as family, friends and care givers and what is currently available for treatment is clearly inadequate. Studies are desperately needed, but as we see with HDT, those studies seem unlikely at best.
Here are links to two studies which discuss lithium in dementia/AD and other neurodegenerative diseases like PD and ALS. The second study is more specific to PD:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Here is a link that discusses drugs currently available for AD :
mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...
Here is a link that discusses side effects of the common AD drug, Aricept :
drugs.com/sfx/aricept-side-...
Art