Lithium Found to Protect Brain Cells During Cranial Radiation

Lithium has protective properties in the brain that make it a potential therapy for reducing these side effects; however, little is known about the mechanisms by which it protects nerves. In a new study, researchers presented findings generated in irradiated mice that lithium protects nerves in the region of the brain known as the hippocampus by promoting DNA repair.

Specifically, a decreased number of double-strand DNA breaks were observed in lithium-treated, irradiated mice and brain cells compared to the control mice. This decrease was associated with increased markers for the nonhomologous end-joining DNA repair pathway. When this pathway was blocked in mice, lithium provided considerably less protection to the hippocampal nerve cells.

The investigators, led by Dr. Fen Xia and colleagues from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TX, USA), therefore, concluded that lithium should be considered as a possible treatment to reduce the long-term neurologic side effects of cranial radiation therapy, particularly in children, and that targeted therapies to enhance DNA repair may provide an avenue for future therapeutic development.

The study was published in the April 1, 2009, issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center