Brain study strengthens link between Lithium and suicide

Lithium is as the lightest solid element, as a fine material to make a battery out of, and to as an effective medication. It was initially used as a medicine against a variety of conditions, including "brain gout" and "general nervousness," to some success in the 19th century.

It is now widely used to treat bipolar disorder and depression, though it can be toxic in high doses.

A team of researchers analysed where in the brain Lithium tends to accumulate in two healthy controls and one suicide victim.

The healthy controls had more Lithium in their white matter than grey matter.

The researchers used a new technique called neutron-induced coincidence (NIK), which involves shooting neutrons at brain sections and measuring the decay products that form after Lithium absorbs a neutron. In this way, they can determine where and how much Lithium is in samples.

This was used to examine a total of 139 samples from the brains of three deceased individuals: the first died a natural death and never took lithium as a medication; the second also never took lithium and died of suicide; and the third took lithium but died a natural death.

The brains of the two subjects who died a natural death contained much more lithium in the white matter than in the grey matter. (Grey matter is involved in higher thought, while white matter is involved in information transfer.) For the suicide victim, there was much less Lithium in the white matter compared to the grey matter.

The results accordingly support the thesis that Lithium may be of essential relevance not only in animal, but also in man. They also mesh well with recent findings suggesting people receiving greater concentrations of Lithium in their drinking water are less likely to commit suicide. Additionally, other studies suggest that Lithium levels in the water relate to local crime rates and occurrences of neurodegenerative disease.