A physical perspective on lithium therapy

TL;DR

This paper reviews how lithium ions influence lipid membranes and cellular activity, exploring their therapeutic effects and underlying physical mechanisms in neurological and viral contexts.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of lithium's physical interactions with lipid membranes and proposes new directions for microbiology and drug development research.

Findings

Lithium affects lipid membrane conformation and phase behavior.

Lithium's metabolic response alleviates cellular overactivity.

Lithium's physical effects are distinct from other alkali ions.

Abstract

Lithium salts have strong medical properties in neurological disorders such as bipolar disorder and lithium-responsive headaches. They have recently gathered attention due to their potential preventive effect in viral infections. Though the therapeutic effect of lithium was documented by Cade in the late 1940s, its underlying mechanism of action is still disputed. Acute lithium exposure has an activating effect on excitable organic tissue and organisms, and is highly toxic. Lithium exposure is associated with a strong metabolic response in the organism, with large changes in phospholipid and cholesterol expression. Opposite to acute exposure, this metabolic response alleviates excessive cellular activity. The presence of lithium ions strongly affects lipid conformation and membrane phase unlike other alkali ions, with consequences for membrane permeability, buffer property and excitability. This review investigates how lithium ions affect lipid membrane composition and function, and how lithium response might in fact be the body's attempt to counteract the physical presence of lithium ions at cell level. Ideas for further research in microbiology and drug development are discussed.