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42 Comments
- Helois, on 11/03/2008, -1/+17Too many of these things seem to show up and then never be released. Did we not already cure cancer about five times and make water powered cars?
- inactive, on 11/04/2008, -0/+10So I should suck on rechargeable power packs?
- SmelFactor, on 11/03/2008, -0/+8They need to do the studies before they find out if it is effective or not. Often the problem is that journalists make far too big a deal of preliminary findings and get people excited for no reason.
- BertEatsDirt, on 11/04/2008, -1/+7Next thing you'll hear is that Teen Spirit cures cancer ;-)
- LimeParrot, on 11/04/2008, -0/+5Well lithium is a known mood stabilizer and is used clinically for bipolar disorder (amongst others) so I wouldn't be surprised if this one turns out to be true. But then again, when it comes to health-care, proper evidence takes many years to accumulate, needing long term studies to evaluate disease progression, effect on mortality etc. So yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you =)
Disclaimer: That made me sound smarter than I actually am... I only know that because I have an exam on neurology this coming Monday! - Terasiel, on 11/04/2008, -1/+6Im so happy, cause today, Ive found my friends ... They're in my head.
- inactive, on 11/04/2008, -0/+5I understand it promotes suicidal tendencies...
- milomilomilo, on 11/04/2008, -0/+4"Disclaimer: That made me sound smarter than I actually am... I only know that because I have an exam on neurology this coming Monday"
Dugg for rare honesty. - inactive, on 11/04/2008, -3/+7Note to self: Listen to more of Nirvana's Nevermind.
- m00n1, on 11/04/2008, -0/+3I've been on lithium. Besides its commonly prescribed usages, there are several suspected things it does - increases neural connections in the brain, etc. There's a catch though. It (often) has nasty side effects, and the therapeutic dose is so close to the toxic dose they monitor it with blood tests. The article calls it common. It may be common, but it's not a "oh you're feeling a bit down? here, pop this" type drug, it's common for bad cases of bipoloar disorder and to a lesser extent severe depression.
A great drug for some (didn't work for me), but not to be used lightly. - snurfle, on 11/04/2008, -0/+3Dugg for Steven Hawking.
I *LOVE* his solo in Limp Bizkit's 'Behind Blue Eyes!' - zadadka, on 11/04/2008, -0/+2Insert lithium = spontaneously combust brain?
- protogenxl, on 11/04/2008, -0/+2Yeah yeah yeah yeah.....
- blakestah, on 11/04/2008, -0/+2I've seen preliminary data from clinical trials (in a talk by De-Maw Chuang) on both lithium and other bipolar meds.
They are somewhat astounding. They slow Alzheimer's. Parkinson's. Cardiovascular disease. And many others. It appears to have a reasonably well understood cellular mechanism.
What they don't tell you is that most people HATE taking lithium. It slows your thinking. In a sense, if you put a governor on cellular function so that you cap the maximum functions of the cell, it makes everything less susceptible to disease. When he started going over the non-CNS functions that were also impacted it was pretty amazing.
http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/research/pi/pi_chua ...
So I don't doubt these findings for an instant - they follow a long line of the same. However, lithium still has side effects, and fundamentally most people just don't like it. - nothugo, on 11/04/2008, -0/+2Even if it doesn't work the placebo effect surely will! I'm feeling better just thinking about dosing up on Lithium and I'm not even ill!
- estacado, on 11/04/2008, -0/+2Nirvana was on to something back then.
- FLarsen, on 11/04/2008, -0/+2"Stephen Hawking: rare form of disease"
Never heard of it. - JasonCox, on 11/04/2008, -0/+2So I should plug myself into my laptop's battery pack?
- Greg2k, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1So this would cancel out the cancer cell phones apparently give us?
- Totz83, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1Isn't Lithium already used to counteract various brain disorders? They should have trialled this a long time ago
- MakanGuru, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1Doctor to patient "here, munch on these laptop batteries for a week or so, if they catch fire, just RMA them to Sony...."
- snurfle, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1And the picture is of a guy named Stephen Hawking!
Wow! What are the odds?
Kinda like Lou Gehrig getting Lou Gehrig's disease!
You'd think they'd see that one coming! - yohojones, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1I'm so happy cuz today they cured my brain... and fixed my head.
- MachineMessiah, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1"You have GOT to get yourself out of this slump. Why don't you take some more lithium, or have a diet coke, or something..."
- kurtskrap, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1+1 for user name. Linger longer.
- inactive, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1And solar panels you can paint onto your shorts or make in a Microwave oven.
- kweee, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1Dilithium will cause brain disease to reach warp speed.
- Nboy514, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1I need to get me some catatonia
- Napiertt, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1I'm not gonna crack!
- onionoino, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1your world is fire when you swallow down lithium!
- NoQuarter, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1It doesn't just have side-effects, it's one of the most toxic drugs we use today. Patients have to have their drug levels monitored (A rise of just 50% over the range we aim for could be fatal) and have to closely control their diet (simple changes in salt will affect their lithium levels) and there are many, many other drugs that can't be taken at the same time.
It's likely that in anyone where this would be a benefit, their other clinical conditions and medicines rule lithium out entirely. - solarisom, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1Lithium is a proven mood stabilizing drug, so an additional benefit is more than welcome.
- WildfireBelle, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1I could have had a good laugh at this quip, except it seems inappropriate here. Such diseases are heart wrenching. Often, people die within 2 to 5 years after debilitating misery. Wonderful people are felled by these horrors.
Sorry for sounding like a total buzz-kill! Jeanne Finelli, RN - kellenvh, on 11/05/2008, -0/+1First of all, Lithium is not an antidepressant. It is a mood stabilizer used for Bipolar Disorder. With that said, this is a very interesting find. Lithium is one of the best medications for Bipolar Disorder, but it doesn't have the "press" of the newer "antipsychotics being used for mood stabilizers" because it's old, generic and Big Pharma can't make a killing off of it. The fact that it may slow brain disease as well is very interesting.
- WildfireBelle, on 11/04/2008, -0/+1Imagine this captivity. You're lucid and entrapped in a body that won't move. While imprisoned inside your own body, you probably face your early death with ambivalence. Loss of life's joys and relief from suffering.
Once definitively diagnosed, I'd gladly take or administer any drug ordered to stave off this progression, monitor drug-levels, and manage side effects. Let's all hope something good pans out soon!
Jeanne Finelli, RN - eazen, on 11/04/2008, -0/+0hahaļ¼
- codgod04, on 11/04/2008, -0/+0I have been on it myself, and I wholeheartedly agree- but seriously.... because of the other problems associated with it- why are we considering it worth the risk?
lithium toxicity is no laughing matter. I've seen people suffering from it, simply because they did not drink enough water to flush it out of the system. They have had constant seizures, problems with extreme weakness, some couldn't even stop throwing up or going to the bathroom every 10 minutes.
would YOU want to put something like this through you, knowing that this would be a likelyhood? This isn't a drug you have to depend on for chronic life-threatening conditions like Diabetes.... it's a "feel good" drug. - inactive, on 11/04/2008, -0/+0Linger longer indeed!! A frunkis to you sir.
- javiero, on 11/04/2008, -0/+0I love that song man...
- tyrione, on 11/05/2008, -0/+0Hold still! You may not be manic and therefore not in need of lithium, but if you'd like I can get you started on a drug program of lithium that may or may not reduce brain disease. Granted your IQ isn't much, but it could be a lot worse!
- dukeeeey, on 11/04/2008, -2/+2Removing mercury amalgam dental fillings may slow brain disease, since they leak mercury into you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA - maspaz, on 11/04/2008, -1/+0Lithium slows brain... uh... brain... ummm... uh... Oh, man I can't remember what I was saying. Who was I talking to? Oh, my reminder alarm on my cellphone went off. Time to take more lithiummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
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