Has anyone out there know about this?

Be sure to get treated for babesia as well as lyme if your LLMD suspects it.

sorry this url is so long:
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/bipolar.txt

you can also look at lots of talk about how babesia causes mood swings or "emotional lability"

This article comes as Part 1 and 2. I printed only Part l. For Part 2, go to
Tahoma Clinic/Articles.

The Misunderstood Mineral Part 1
By Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.
(Reprinted From "Nutrition and Healing")

Think young into your 90s with this anti-aging secret for your brain

The biggest problem with lithium treatment is people's perception of it. Since its most well known use is for bi-polar disorder, lithium sometimes encounters the same stigma as mental illness itself.

I've been taking a lithium supplement every day for several years. When I tell people about it, they sometimes get funny looks on their faces and start eyeing the corners of the room for straight jackets. These reactions don't surprise me, since, as I said, lithium is usually associated with mental illness. But I've never suffered from a mental disorder (although certain mainstream medical doctors and possibly a federal agency or two might disagree). Treating manic-depressive (bi-polar) illness is lithium's most widely known use--but it isn't an anti-psychotic drug, as many people believe. In fact, lithium isn't a drug at all. It's actually a mineral-part of the same family of minerals that includes sodium and potassium.

You might remember reading several editions of Health e-Tips a few months ago that discussed various benefits of lithium. In addition to the benefits mentioned in the e-Tips, like controlling gout and relieving rashes caused by sebhorric dermatitis, lithium also has some great brain-boosting effects. In fact, I've reviewed both recent lithium research and the research spanning the past few decades, and I'm convinced that lithium is an anti-aging nutrient for human brains. And there are also some very strong reasons to believe that lithium therapy will slow the progression of serious degenerative mental problems, including Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia, and Parkinson's disease.

So there are obviously quite a few "pros" to using lithium, but you're probably wondering about the "cons." In the 1930s and '40s, lithium chloride was sold in stores as a salt substitute. But (as frequently happens) some people used way too much and suffered toxic overdoses, so it fell out of common use. Fortunately, lithium toxicity is entirely preventable, and it's also easily treatable if it ever does occur -- but more about that later. Right now, let's get into some of the specifics on just how you (and your brain) can benefit from lithium.

Taking (grey) matters into your own hands

Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's famous fictional detective, had an amusing quirk in his incessant concern for his "little grey cells." I thought of Hercule several years ago when I saw the following headline in an issue of the Lancet: "Lithium-induced increase in human brain grey matter."

That may not sound like an earth-shattering piece of news, but it actually was quite a major discovery. To that point, medical experts believed that once our brains matured, it was all downhill from then on. Decades of autopsies, x-rays, and, more recently, brain scans have repeatedly shown that brains shrink measurably with aging. But according to their report in the Lancet, Wayne State University (Detroit) researchers found that lithium has the ability to both protect and renew brain cells.1 Eight of 10 individuals who took lithium showed an average 3 percent increase in brain grey matter in just four weeks.

Lithium may help to generate entirely new cells too: Another group of researchers recently reported that lithium also enhances nerve cell DNA replication.2 DNA replication is a first step in the formation of a new cell of any type.

The Wayne State study used high-dose lithium, but I'm certainly not using that amount myself, nor do I recommend it. Prescription quantities of lithium just aren't necessary for "everyday" brain cell protection and re-growth. Studies done years ago have shown that very low amounts of lithium can also measurably influence brain function for the better.

Protect yourself from brain damage you didn't even know you had

Aside from boosting brain mass, recent research also shows that lithium can help protect your brain from the "beating" it gets in the course of everyday life. Your brain cells are constantly at risk of damage from exposure to toxins of all sorts-even ones produced by your own body. Toxic molecules are formed naturally during the course of normal brain metabolism.3-7 Since these "normal" toxic molecules (sometimes called "excitotoxins") are produced every day of your life, eventually they start to wear down or erode away brain mass.

Another well-known cause of brain cell injury is overactivated N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Lithium can inhibit this overactivity.8 And lithium also increases production of a major brain protective protein called "bcl-2" in both human and animal brain cells.9

So it appears that lithium can protect against normal brain erosion and shrinkage that would otherwise occur over the course of our lives. But lithium also protects the brain from other less "normal" problems too, like damage caused by prescription medications and strokes.

When a clot or other obstruction occurs in a blood vessel serving the brain, it causes a reduction of blood flow to that area. If it's bad enough, the lack of blood flow will cause a stroke and death of brain cells. (This type of stroke is known as an ischemic stroke.) Research in experimental animals with deliberately induced ischemic strokes has shown that lithium reduces the areas of cell death.10,11

In one of these studies, researchers blocked a brain artery in rats. Some were pre-treated with lithium for 16 days, the rest weren't. The researchers reported that the lithium-treated rats experienced 56 percent less cell death and significantly fewer neurologic deficits than the control rats.12

And sometimes medications designed to treat other problems end up having a negative impact on the brain. For example, anti-convulsant medications cause abnormal levels of brain cell death. But lithium significantly protects against this type of cell death-so much so that this effect has been called "robust" (a term scientists use to mean "It really works!").13

In fact, based on its general neuroprotective effect, researchers have recently suggested that "the use of lithium as a neurotrophic/neuroprotective agent should be considered in the long term treatment of mood disorders, irrespective of the 'primary' treatment modality being used for the condition."14 Translation: Lithium should be used along with any patent medicine being used for depression, anxiety, or any other "mood-altering" reason, since it will protect brain cells against their unwanted toxic effects. The researchers didn't say so, but I will: Any list of "mood altering substances" should include alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, "uppers," "downers," and-for those who do inhale-marijuana. Harmless as some of them might seem, these substances can cause brain damage with medium to long-term abuse.

Keeping your brain's lines of communication open -and healthy

Scientists determine how healthy brain cells are by measuring levels of a molecule called N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA). A decrease in NAA is thought to reflect decreased nerve cell viability, decreased function, or even nerve cell loss.15 In a study of 19 research volunteers given four weeks of lithium, 14 experienced a significant increase in NAA, one had no change, and four had a small decrease.16

Now, what about the interaction between those new, protected, healthy brain cells? Communication between brain cells and networks of brain cells is called "signaling." And lithium is actually necessary for at least two signal-carrying pathways.17 Researchers have also reported that lithium may help to repair abnormally functioning signaling pathways in critical areas of the brain.18

Lithium and Alzheimer's: New hope for a "hopeless" situation

As you know, there's no cure for Alzheimer's disease and there's very little available for patients (and families) that can offer even partial relief from the turmoil it causes. So when new treatments are developed or discovered, it's usually big news -a ray of hope for people stuck in a seemingly hopeless situation. One of these newly developed patent medications, called Memantine,(tm) was recently approved in Europe. Even though it's not officially "approved" in this country (yet), thousands of people are already importing Memantine to the U.S. via various Internet sources. But why go through all the trouble (not to mention risk) of getting and using this new patent formula? Apparently, it "works" by protecting brain cells against damage caused by a major excitotoxin, glutamate. But protecting against glutamate-induced nerve cell damage is also one of the well-known actions of lithium. So if it's true that this newly approved patent medication slows the progress of Alzheimer's disease in this way, then lithium should slow Alzheimer's disease progression, too. Of course, lithium treatment, which isn't patentable and doesn't have nearly the profit potential of patented Alzheimers medications, hasn't made any headlines. But that doesn't mean it isn't a promising option for patients struggling with Alzheimer's disease.

There are many other research findings that also strongly suggest that lithium will protect against potential Alzheimer's disease and slow the progression of existing cases. Researchers have reported that lithium inhibits beta-amyloid secretion, and also prevents damage caused by beta-amyloid protein once it's been formed.20-23 Beta-amyloid peptide is a signature protein involved in Alzheimer's disease: the more beta-amyloid protein, the worse the Alzheimer's becomes.

Overactivation of a brain cell protein called tau protein also contributes to neuronal degeneration in Alzheimer's disease, as does the formation of neurofibrillary tangles Lithium inhibits both of these nerve-cell damaging problems.24,25

And you've likely read that individuals with Alzheimer's disease usually have excess aluminum accumulation in brain cells. While it's not yet known whether this excess aluminum is a cause, an effect, or just coincidental, most health-conscious individuals take precautions to avoid ingesting aluminum. Unfortunately, it's impossible to completely avoid all aluminum, since it's naturally present in nearly all foods. But lithium can help protect your brain against aluminum by helping to "chelate" it so that it can be more easily removed from the body.25

Although Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia aren't technically the same, they do share many of the same degenerative features so there's every reason to expect that lithium will help prevent or slow the progression of senile dementia too.

A younger, healthier brain with just one small dose a day

As I mentioned earlier, some of these studies used rather high doses of lithium. And in some instances, as in the case of manic depression, doses as high as 90 to 180 milligrams of elemental lithium from 900 to 1800 milligrams of lithium carbonate are necessary. Quantities of lithium in that range must be monitored closely to guard against overdose and toxicity.

But you really don't need large amounts to improve your "every-day" brain function. Studies have repeatedly shown that substantially lower amounts of lithium can significantly improve brain function (as reflected in behavior).

The amounts of lithium I recommend for brain anti-aging range from 10 to 20 milligrams (from lithium aspartate or lithium orotate) daily. I've actually been recommending these amounts since the 1970s. At first I was exceptionally cautious and asked all of my patients taking lithium to have regular "lithium level" blood tests and thyroid function tests. After a year or so, I quit asking for the lithium level blood tests, since 100 percent of them came back very low. Another year after that, I stopped requesting routine thyroid function tests, too, only doing one when I was suspicious of a potential problem. In the 30 years since, I've rarely found one.

Protect your brain starting today--no prescription necessary

High-dose lithium is available only by prescription. But low-dose lithium (capsules or tablets containing 5 milligrams of lithium from lithium aspartate or lithium orotate) is available from a few natural food stores and compounding pharmacies, as well as from the Tahoma Clinic Dispensary.

If you're interested in keeping your brain as young as possible for as long as possible, you should definitely consider lithium therapy. Review this information with your physician...but make sure he is skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional and natural medicine!

A sneak peek at even more lithium secrets

In Part 2, I'll review lithium's many other effects-from preventing anorexia to relieving cluster headaches, to lowering blood sugar (and that's just to name a few!). I think you'll be surprised at just how versatile this misunderstood mineral can be.

In the meantime, if you'd like to read the Health e-Tips on lithium (or to sign up to begin receiving these free e-mail updates), visit the Nutrition & Healing website at www.wrightnewsletter.com.

JVW

Dr C should be able to tell you more. If you want to begin it before going down, why not?

I don't know lithium sounds pretty heavy.

I'm controlling my supposed bipolar diagnosis with lexapro low dose and antibiotics.....

you may want to try antibiotics as dr Fallon from columbia suggests that his study has found a lot of improvement treating chronic neurolyme sufferers by using extended IV antibiotics.....

If you thro lithium in your brain you won't be able to tell what's what...in my opinion........zman

I don't know lithium sounds pretty heavy.

I'm controlling my supposed bipolar diagnosis with lexapro low dose and antibiotics.....

you may want to try antibiotics as dr Fallon from columbia suggests that his study has found a lot of improvement treating chronic neurolyme sufferers by using extended IV antibiotics.....

If you thro lithium in your brain you won't be able to tell what's what...in my opinion........zman

Perplexed,

consider as causes(NOT inclusive): babesiosis, and thyroid problem,herx effect(?), and GINGKO Biloba, some of the medicines your on, and the interaction of effects.
ginko made me crazed(mood swing), and it affected my thyroid. i think it was the effect of the gingko on my thyroid, and, in turn, this affected my mood. also, the increased circulation to the brain, and or effects stemming thereby caused it,contributed to it. I was NOT taking anything else, other dietary supps., meds of any kind,P'xd or otc. i deliberately tested myself with the gingko, and pegged my mood swing to this. in the morning hours after taking the gingko, severe arguments, and that late afternoon to early evening,back to my usual non-crazed state.

oral vitamin C, B2, B6, may augment existing mood swings, because they conduce to the brain (macrophages) pumping-out quinolinic acid; in turn, high levels of quin. acid can cause irritability. Magnesium and niacin conduce to a temporarily lower level of quin acid. if considering niacin, i wouldn't do more than 25mg., max, at a given dose since it causes some inflammation in the heart/liver plus some other problems,if high dose niacin.

one or more classic forms of lithium, affect the kidney in some way, and affects sodium processing.(double check this). i read this years ago.

another form of Li is lithium-orotate.

Dr.Ronald Hoffman,M.D., may have an essay on some forms of lithium.http://www.drhoffman.com

As has been noted by previous posters, Lyme & Co are notable for causing psych symptoms. Addressing the Lyme is obviously essential.

If and when you add psych meds to your protocol is entirely dependant on how (bad)you feel. If you are feeling ok, my advice would be to wait.

That way, you can see how you are tolerating abx and what impact they have before adding another med. Abx alone can cause intense psych reactions, particularly in Lymies.

However, if you are in serious psych trouble or your doc thinks you will be...thats another story.

Few LLMDs withold psych meds from a seriously suffering Lymie while waiting for the abx to kick in. Dr. Fallon of Columbia recommends treating unmanageable Lyme psych symptoms during abx treatment.

Keep in mind, tho, that Lyme is famous for changing the way your brain will respond to any psych medication. It totally screws up brain chemistry and neurotransmission.

Non response to psych meds or paradoxical reactions seem to be the rule in Neuro-borellia, even if they once worked. Add abx to the mix and it becomes even more complicated.

No two patients will respond exactly the same way. So what works for Sally may be useless or toxic for Sue. Same as in the real world but even dicier with Lyme.

Without knowing more of your situation, it is impossible to advise you specifically on whether or not Lithium is the med of choice for you.

That said, lithium is used to help decrease agitation. There is very little peer-reviewed or anecdotal evidence that it produces agitation as an adverse side effect in any patients, lyme or otherwise.

Echoing what Gigi said, there is evidence that lithium has neuron-protecting action.

Manic episodes are thought to be triggered by a "kindling" effect which is similar to CNS seizures. Lithium has been shown to dramatically reduce kindling and relapses in in 70% of Bipolar 1 patients.

Knowing how lyme goes after the CNS, an inference could be made that lithium could provide a protective action.

However, Lithium has not been shown to be as episode-preventative as anticonvulsants (depakote/tegretol)on patients who have more than 4 BP relapses a year. So, in cases that are more severe and chronic, lithium may provide some, but not enough, protection.

Some LLPsychs prefer lithium to anticonvulsants (eg; depakote,tegretol) because it doesn't add another burden to the liver while also on heavy duty abx.

However, lithium does put an extra burden on the thyroid and kidneys.

Also note, Flagyl (metronidazole), a commonly used abx for lyme cysts, causes an increase in serum lithium levels.

Symptoms of lithium toxicity can mimic those of lyme and antibiotics so you need to be vigilant.

They include: tremors, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, heart arythmias, heart block, confusion and disorientation, muscle weakness, twitches, gait disturbance, incontinence, short term memory deficits, hair loss, kidney impairment, hypothyroidism, seizures, coma.

Blood levels are critical but toxicity can occur even when levels are within "normal" ranges.

Proceed, as with all meds, with knowledge and caution.

Whatever you and your docs decide, my thoughts are with you for recovery.

Good luck,
andie

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to write all of this and give me more to think about.

Gigi you gave me a long read...will curl up in front of computer later with candles lit and read it...LOL So much information.

I have started the lithium and when I see the LLMD in MO..first time...in August..if he disagrees, I will stop. One day at a time here...oye!

Lithium and magnesium

A possible explanation for these findings is that Li+ displaces Mg2+ from intracellular binding sites. Having considered the binding constants for Mg2+ and Li+ to ATP, we conclude that Li+ can displace Mg2+ from Mg-ATP, thus causing a rise in [Mg2+]i. This work has implications for other studies where Li+ is used as a Na+ substitute.

PMID: 10497887

sodium especially depletes potassium and calcium especially depletes magnesium.

Zinc depletes potassium and cadmium depletes magnesium.
http://www.ithyroid.com/latest_ideas.htm

lithium displaces potassium more readily than sodium
http://www.abundantlivinglifestylecenter.com/articles/health/harmful-sad.html

Excitatory effects of cholinergic agonists in brain depend primarily on inhibition of potassium currents in postsynaptic neurons (Krnjevic, 1993).
http://psycprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00000524/

(pq...did you see cholinergic agonists? above!)

Lithium alters calcium levels

Lithium seems to alter many calcium-dependent processes. It appears that bipolar illness is a result of disturbances in calcium-regulated functions.

Patients who took lithium and improved had a rise in their magnesium levels, while the magnesium levels of those who took lithium and did not improve stayed much the same.
http://www.chemicalbalance.com/part_three_manual.htm

Looks like...lithium, sodium and zinc lowers potassium. Calcium lowers lithium...and lithium supplements can cause a rise in magnesium levels in some persons.

Title
Lithium effects on calcium, magnesium and phosphate in man: effects on balance, bone mineral content, faecal and urinary excretion.

Author
Plenge P; Rafaelsen OJ
Source
Acta Psychiatr Scand, 66(5):361-73 1982 Nov
Abstract

Calcium, magnesium and phosphate metabolism was studied in lithium-treated patients, using a metabolic balance technique. Two groups of patients participated in the study: 1) Patients who were to start on a prophylactic lithium treatment, and 2) Long-term lithium-treated patients whose treatment was to be terminated.

Lithium treatment produced a positive balance in both calcium, phosphate and magnesium. By continuous lithium treatment the effect on magnesium wore off, whereas the effect on calcium and phosphate persisted.

In urine, lithium induced a decrease in both calcium and phosphate excretion, whereas the excretion of magnesium was increased. Bone mineral content was measured by photon absorption, and lithium treatment resulted in a decrease in bone mineral content occurring within the first 6 months of lithium treatment.

In the patients, bioavailability of the Li2CO3 preparation was found to be about 95%, and the patients contained about one 24-h dose of lithium just before the next dose of lithium was administered.
http://www.ithyroid.com/lithium1.htm

Lithium competes at cellular sites with sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium ions. At the cell membrane, it readily passes through sodium channels, and high concentrations can block potassium channels.

Lithium competes with these ions at intracellular binding sites, at protein surfaces, at carrier binding sites, and at transport sites. Although the mechanism of the antimanic and antidepressant action in the CNS is not known, evidence suggests that the drug interferes with the synthesis, storage, release, and reuptake of monoamine neurotransmitters

***Serum lithium concentrations should not be allowed to rise above 2.0 mEq/L during the acute treatment phase. Serum concentrations above 3.0mEq/L can produce adverse effects involving multiple organ systems.

Leukocytosis is routinely noted during lithium therapy. This effect appears to be secondary to an increased number of circulating neutrophils. Leukocytosis is generally reversible upon discontinuation of therapy.

Occasionally a rare leukemia may develop. Unless the white blood cell count rises to 100,000 cells/cu mm, there is no need to discontinue lithium therapy.
http://www.parkinsons-information-exchange-network-online.com/drugdb/073.html

The scuba diving link?

Potassium, Lithium, and Sodium
The potassium (K+) concentration steadily decreases downhole to a minimum of 6.3 mM at 609.75 mbsf. Potassium normally decreases with increasing burial depth at deep-sea sites.

Up to ~150 mbsf, concentrations of lithium (Li+) increase slowly with depth. Below 150 mbsf, the slope of the depth-concentration profile becomes slightly steeper. The lithium concentration generally tracks the profile of the calcium concentration.

Although lithium concentrations are related to the opal transformation process, including biogenic silica dissolution as described at some DSDP sites (Gieskes, 1981), the lithium profile of this site is apparently not influenced by the silica concentration.

Sodium (Na+) concentrations are related to chloride concentrations, showing a local maximum of 479 mM at 51.50 mbsf and a minimum of 468 mM at 466.25 mbsf.
http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/181_IR/chap_07/c7_html8.htm

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2001 Jan 26;280(3):720-5. Related Articles, Links

Lithium inhibits glycogen synthase kinase-3 by competition for magnesium.

Ryves WJ, Harwood AJ.

MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.

The mechanism by which lithium (Li(+)) inhibits the protein kinase glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that Li(+) is a competitive inhibitor of GSK-3 with respect to magnesium (Mg(2+)), but not to substrate or ATP.

This mode of inhibition is conserved between mammalian and Dictyostelium GSK-3 isoforms, and is not experienced with other group I metal ions. As a consequence, the potency of Li(+) inhibition is dependent on Mg(2+) concentration. We also found that GSK-3 is sensitive to chelation of free Mg(2+) by ATP and is progressively inhibited when ATP concentrations exceed that of Mg(2+).

Given the cellular concentrations of ATP and Mg(2+), our results indicate that Li(+) will have a greater effect on GSK-3 activity in vivo than expected from in vitro studies and this may be a factor relevant to its use in the treatment of depression. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

PMID: 11162580