Lithium can be risky, but it is interesting.......
The finding suggests exciting new possibilities for drug therapy, one of which is lithium. “Lithium very potently activates REST,” Yankner says. The drug is already a well-established therapy for bipolar disorder. The dosage has to be low, however, to avoid side effects such as tremors, vomiting and kidney failure—which are even more dangerous in the elderly. “I caution anyone against taking lithium for dementia at this time because it's experimental and potentially toxic; however, it may be a prototype for better drugs,” he says. And because REST works together with a number of other proteins, these proteins are also potential targets for treatment.