Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hampel, Harald
• Ewers, Michael
• Bürger, Katharina
• Annas, Peter
• Mörtberg, Anette
• Bogstedt, Anna
• Frölich, Lutz
• Schröder, Johannes
• Schönknecht, Peter
• Riepe, Matthias W
• Kraft, Inga
• Gasser, Thomas
• Leyhe, Thomas
• Möller, Hans-Jürgen
• Kurz, Alexander
• Basun, Hans

Titel

Lithium trial in Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter 10-week study

Ist Teil von

• The journal of clinical psychiatry, 2009-06, Vol.70 (6), p.922-931

Ort / Verlag

United States

Erscheinungsjahr

2009

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Lithium, a first-line drug for the treatment of bipolar depression, has recently been shown to regulate glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), a kinase that is involved in the phosphorylation of the tau protein. Since hyperphosphorylation of tau is a core pathological feature in Alzheimer's disease, lithium-induced inhibition of GSK-3 activity may have therapeutic effects in Alzheimer's disease. In the current study, we tested the effect of short-term lithium treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease. A total of 71 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (Mini-Mental State Examination score > or = 21 and < or = 26) were successfully randomly assigned to placebo (N = 38) or lithium treatment (N = 33) at 6 academic expert memory clinics. The 10-week treatment included a 6-week titration phase to reach the target serum level of lithium (0.5-0.8 mmol/L). The primary outcome measures were cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and GSK-3 activity in lymphocytes. Secondary outcome measures were CSF concentration of total tau and beta-amyloid(1-42) (Abeta(1-42)), plasma levels of Abeta(1-42), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS)-Cognitive summary scores, MMSE, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Patients were enrolled in the study from November 2004 to July 2005. No treatment effect on GSK-3 activity or CSF-based biomarker concentrations (P > .05) was observed. Lithium treatment did not lead to change in global cognitive performance as measured by the ADAS-Cog subscale (P = .11) or in depressive symptoms. The current results do not support the notion that lithium treatment may lead to reduced hyperphosphorylation of tau protein after a short 10-week treatment in the Alzheimer's disease target population. (Controlled-Trials.com) Identifier: ISRCTN72046462.