Tiny amounts of lithium -- a natural metal -- may help protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease and other effects of aging, new Harvard research shows.

Lithium is a metal found in some foods, drinking water, and in trace amounts in our bodies. It has long been used to treat some psychiatric disorders. But its potential role in protection against brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease opens up new doors for developing medicines that may finally provide an effective tool for fighting this dreaded brain-robbing disease,

People with Alzheimer’s disease have lower levels of lithium in their brains than those without cognitive impairment, and the metal appears to accelerate the accumulation of amyloid plaques and memory