Target: Jayanta Bhattacharya, Director of National Institutes of Health
Goal: Help facilitate expansion of research exploring use of low-dosage lithium as treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s an unforgiving disease that robs an estimated 6 million Americans annually of their abilities to think, to perform daily activities, and eventually – to live. Alzheimer’s disease has no effective, long-lasting treatment and no hope of recovery. But a breakthrough study from the labs of Harvard Medical School could provide that ray of hope.
The study investigates the role lithium – traditionally used as a mood stabilizer but also present as a naturally occurring metal in the body – plays in aging brains. Previous studies had found a potential link between bodily lithium deficiencies and a greater likelihood of developing dementia. Lithium can play a vital role in helping the body’s cells – including brain cells that remove the plaque associated with Alzheimer’s – perform their proper function. In the Harvard study, low levels of a specific type of lithium infusion appeared to reverse many of the signs and symptoms of brain aging, particularly in relation to Alzheimer’s-like symptoms.
Researchers emphasize that more studies are needed on a larger scale (to monitor aspects like safe lithium dosage levels) before this possible revolutionary treatment approach can be applied to human patients. Sign the petition below to urge the National Institutes of Health – in the midst of federal cuts – to invest in a promising tool to combat one of healthcare’s most destructive foes.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Dr. Bhattacharya,
For the many American families who have been personally touched by Alzheimer’s disease, the news of a potential revolutionary treatment approach is bittersweet. While the lithium-focused study could not save untold numbers of Americans from this disease’s tragic grip, it could one day bring hope and, possibly, recovery of loved ones to future families.
Investment in this research is not just an investment in reversing one disease. It is an investment in reversing the economic and societal losses wrought by this affliction. If the insights taken from this study remain stuck in phase one and fail to gain the needed financial and logistical support for broad-scale applied research, individuals and families will continue to suffer. If any initiative is integral and representative of the National Institutes of Health’s mission, this is it.
Invest now.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Unknown
