It has emerged that American researchers have made an advance towards uncovering lithium's mode of action as it treats bipolar disorders.
The new research has provided solid evidence that lithium reduces brain inflammation by adjusting the metabolism of the health-protective omega-3-fatty acid called DHA.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by symptoms of thought, behavior and social problems.
Advertisement
Inflammation in the brain, like other parts of the body, is an important process to help the brain combat infection or injury.
However, excess or unwanted inflammation can damage sensitive brain cells, which can contribute to psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder or degenerative diseases like Alzheimers.
![Australians Urged to Stop Swearing for Schizophrenia Awareness Week]( "Australians Urged to Stop Swearing for Schizophrenia Awareness Week")
Aussies are being asked to give up swearing for one whole week to help raise money for schizophrenia research.
It's believed that lithium helps treat bipolar disorder by reducing brain inflammation during the manic phase, thus alleviating some of the symptoms.
Exactly how lithium operates, though, has been debated.
Mireille Basselin and colleagues at the National Institute of Aging and University of Colorado, Denver, took a detailed approach to this question by using mass spectrometry analysis to analyse the chemical composition of brain samples of both control and lithium-treated rats stressed by brain inflammation.
They found that in agreement with some other studies, rats given a six-week lithium treatment had reduced levels of arachidonic acid and its products, which can contribute to inflammation.
Moreover, they also demonstrated, for the first time, that lithium treatment increased levels of a metabolite called 17-OH-DHA in response to inflammation. 17-OH-DHA is formed from the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and is the precursor to a wide range of anti-inflammatory compounds known as docosanoids.
Other anti-inflammatory drugs, like aspirin, are known to also enhance docosanoids in their mode of action.
Basselin and colleagues noted that the concentration of DHA did not increase, which suggests that lithium may increase 17-OH-DHA levels by affecting the enzyme that converts DHA to 17-OH-DHA.
By reducing both pro-inflammatory AA products, and increasing anti-inflammatory DHA products, lithium exerts a double-protective effect which may explain why it works well in bipolar treatment.
The study has appeared in the May 2010 Journal of Lipid Research.
Source: ANI
RAS /
Australians Urged to Stop Swearing for Schizophrenia Awareness Week
Aussies are being asked to give up swearing for one whole week to help raise money for schizophrenia research.
Advertisement
It's believed that lithium helps treat bipolar disorder by reducing brain inflammation during the manic phase, thus alleviating some of the symptoms.
Exactly how lithium operates, though, has been debated.
Mireille Basselin and colleagues at the National Institute of Aging and University of Colorado, Denver, took a detailed approach to this question by using mass spectrometry analysis to analyse the chemical composition of brain samples of both control and lithium-treated rats stressed by brain inflammation.
They found that in agreement with some other studies, rats given a six-week lithium treatment had reduced levels of arachidonic acid and its products, which can contribute to inflammation.
Moreover, they also demonstrated, for the first time, that lithium treatment increased levels of a metabolite called 17-OH-DHA in response to inflammation. 17-OH-DHA is formed from the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and is the precursor to a wide range of anti-inflammatory compounds known as docosanoids.
Other anti-inflammatory drugs, like aspirin, are known to also enhance docosanoids in their mode of action.
Basselin and colleagues noted that the concentration of DHA did not increase, which suggests that lithium may increase 17-OH-DHA levels by affecting the enzyme that converts DHA to 17-OH-DHA.
By reducing both pro-inflammatory AA products, and increasing anti-inflammatory DHA products, lithium exerts a double-protective effect which may explain why it works well in bipolar treatment.
The study has appeared in the May 2010 Journal of Lipid Research.
Source: ANI
RAS /
Link Between Brain Chemical, Cognitive Decline in Schizophrenia Demonstrated by UC Davis Researchers
Researchers at UC Davis have provided evidence that deficits in a brain chemical may be responsible for some of the debilitating cognitive deficits that are the hallmarks of schizophrenia
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Drug News
India's First Urinary Incontinence Drug Fesobig may offer Affordable treatment for Overactive Bladder (OAB), a widely prevalent problem among Indian men and women.
Oral anticoagulant drugs, particularly Rivaroxaban presented superior efficacy and safety than warfarin in atrial fibrillation patients with chronic kidney disease.
Patients with hepatitis D virus-related chronic advanced liver disease are treated with an antiviral therapy.
Among people with COVID-19, Paxlovid drug was found to reduce hospitalization and death risk by 90%, revealed study.
Lilly will likely maintain or increase its market share in the insulin space as the average out-of-pocket cost for its insulin products is already below the $35 price cap.