Is lithium the key to avoiding the development of dementia? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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If mouse models prove to be true in humans, the element lithium may help avoid the development of dementia. Dementia expert Constantine Lyketsos at Johns Hopkins says he’s disturbed by the tenor of the coverage of this basic science discovery.

Lyketsos: The need for lithium make it sound like it's a kind of a vitamin. There needs to be a certain amount of lithium in the brain cells and if you don't have the right amount bad things happen. If that's really true for humans then that's very novel and then of course replacing your lithium levels they make it sound like ohh it's like getting your B12 level in order. But it's still very far from being useful. I'm not even sure if lithium orotate is available. I worry that somebody's going to start making it available commercially. Who knows about the safety, who knows about the right dosing?        :32

Lyketsos cautions everyone who’s worried about their own dementia risk that much more work needs to be done before taking lithium is a proven strategy. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.