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©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Is lithium potentially a trace element?
Takeshi Terao, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, Hasama-machi, Yufu City, Oita Prefecture 879-5593, Japan
Author contributions: Terao T solely contributed to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest: In relation to the above manuscript, Takeshi Terao has no received fees for serving as a speaker, received no research funding, no stocks or no patent.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Takeshi Terao, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Yufu City, Oita Prefecture 879-5593, Japan. terao@oita-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-97-5865823 Fax: +81-97-5493583
Received: November 23, 2014
Peer-review started: November 24, 2014
First decision: December 26, 2014
Revised: January 7, 2015
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: March 22, 2015
Peer-review started: November 24, 2014
First decision: December 26, 2014
Revised: January 7, 2015
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: March 22, 2015
Abstract
Lithium, a naturally occurring element, is widely used in clinical settings for psychiatric treatment. Several studies showed that micro-dose lithium (e.g., lithium in drinking water) could have anti-aging and anti-dementia effects in addition to an anti-suicidal effect, although anti-mania and psychosis or anti-cancer effects are yet to be determined. Although these studies do not provide conclusive evidence, further studies are warranted to investigate whether lithium is trace element. If so, future studies would need to determine what levels are required to maintain mental health.
Keywords: Lithium, Trace element, Suicide, Micro-dose, Aging, Dementia
Core tip: Micro-dose lithium (e.g., lithium in drinking water) could have anti-aging and anti-dementia effects as well as anti-suicidal effect.