People with early memory problems or Alzheimer’s tend to have less of a natural mineral called lithium in a part of their brain that helps with memory, and the less lithium they have, the worse their memory gets—so measuring lithium might help catch brain decline early.

When mice don’t get enough lithium, their brain cells change their gene activity in ways that look a lot like the changes seen in human brains with Alzheimer’s—suggesting lithium might play a similar role in both species.

A special form of lithium called lithium orotate may help the brain clear out harmful proteins linked to Alzheimer’s, fix memory problems, and reduce brain inflammation in mice—without using high, potentially toxic doses.

When mice don’t get enough lithium in their food, their brains lose about half their lithium, and this causes brain changes that look a lot like Alzheimer’s disease—like sticky protein clumps, damaged nerve connections, and memory problems.

A form of lithium called lithium orotate may help fix low lithium levels in the brain, slow down harmful brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s, and even clean up the sticky proteins that cause memory problems in mice.