Stardust for the Synapses: Exploring the Utility of Low-Dose Lithium for Brain Health
James Greenblatt, MD
Overview
A trace mineral found in the tissues of all vertebrate organisms, lithium is enjoying something of a renaissance – as research yields increasingly robust evidence of its nutritional essentiality and its therapeutic applications in modern neuropsychiatry.
Despite the increasingly focused spotlight shone on this fascinating mineral, however, lithium remains shrouded in a great deal of misunderstanding.
Arising primarily from erroneous conflations of pharmaceutical vs. low-dose “nutritional” lithium, such misunderstanding is both injurious to the field and those patients who might stand to benefit significantly from low-dose lithium. For – as research increasingly and consistently demonstrates – low-dose lithium’s clinical applications are vast, spanning neurodegenerative disorders, psychiatric illness, and suicide prevention.
This lecture will shine a focused spotlight on the therapeutic applications of low-dose lithium, bridging research, concept, and clinical translation with a special focus on Alzheimer’s, suicide prevention, and mood instability.
Objectives
- Elucidate the lithium dose-response curve, as well as the differences between pharmaceutical and low-dose (“nutritional”) lithium.
- List two or more clinical indicators of lithium deficiency.
- Elucidate the differential applications, dose ranges, and safety profiles for lithium carbonate vs. lithium orotate, respectively.
- Understand the utility of trace mineral hair testing
About the Author
James Greenblatt, MD
A pioneer in the field of Functional, Nutritional, & Metabolic Psychiatry, dually board-certified Adult and Child & Adolescent psychiatrist Dr. James M. Greenblatt has been treating patients since 1988. After obtaining his medical degree and completing his psychiatry residency at George Washington University, Dr. Greenblatt completed a fellowship in Child & Adolescent psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School. He has served as Chief Medical Officer at Walden Behavioral Care in Waltham, MA for nearly 20 years, and is a member of the clinical psychiatry faculty at the Tufts University School of Medicine and the Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine.
Dr. Greenblatt is the author of eight books, including the bestselling Finally Focused and the expert-acclaimed Answers to Anorexia (2021). His newest book, Functional & Integrative Medicine for Antidepressant Withdrawal, is available now.
A nationally and internationally recognized expert, author, and educator, Dr. Greenblatt is also the founder of Psychiatry Redefined – an online Continuing Medical Education platform dedicated to the advancement of evidence-based, personalized treatment models for mental illness.
For more information, visit: www.psychiatryredefined.org and www.jamesgreenblattmd.com
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