Lithium Orotate supplement

[pumpingiron]

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about Lithium Orotate Supplement and is it worth trying or not?

[Wise Young]

Originally Posted by pumpingiron

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about Lithium Orotate Supplement and is it worth trying or not?

What are you thinking of using it for? I strongly suggest that people *do not* try lithium on their own. It is toxic at overdose levels and must be taken under close clinical supervision. Here is quite an article about lithium orotate in Wikipedia. Note caveats...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_orotate

Lithium orotate H2N2O4Li+is a lithium salt of pyrimidinecarboxylic acid and lithium.

Lithium orotate has controversially been promoted as an alternative to lithium carbonate. In this compound, lithium is coupled with an orotate ion, rather than to a carbonate ion. Lithium orotate is sold under a wide variety of brand names and is available at some drugstores and health food stores.

[edit] Scientific studies

There is no evidence for the use of lithium orotate in clinical treatment in preference to lithium carbonate, and some suggest that it may be harmful. However, there is some evidence that lithium orotate may be useful in the treatment of addictions.[1] Some patients prefer to use it in place of lithium carbonate, as they believe that it is more bioavailable and the side effects tend to be significantly reduced.

Lithium orotate is generally marketed as a dietary supplement used in small doses to treat conditions including stress, manic depression, alcoholism, ADHD and ADD, aggression, PTSD, Alzheimer's and to improve memory.

An animal study by Smith and Schou suggests that the kidneys clear lithium orotate significantly less effectively than lithium carbonate, and that this accounts for the higher serum levels of lithum when lithium orotate is taken compared to the equivalent amount of lithium carbonate. They conclude: "The higher lithium concentrations could be accounted for by the lower kidney function. It seems inadvisable to use lithium orotate for the treatment of patients."[2]

Ironically, this study which concluded that lithium orotate was inadvisable for treatment of patients was done as a direct follow-up study to one performed by Kling, Manowitz and Pollack in 1978. Their study suggested that lithium orotate could be used in lower amounts than required of lithium carbonate to achieve therapeutic results. [1]

Although some psychiatrists prescribe lithium orotate to their patients, it is most often naturopaths and other health practictioners who recommend this mineral to their patients. There currently is a non-scientific study going on for current users of lithium orotate[3] to make up for the gaps in our knowledge on the effects this mineral has in the body of humans. The last study presented was completed in 1979 and involved guinea pigs taking extremely high dosages of lithium orotate, which contradicted an earlier study.

It should be noted that self-treatment of a psychiatric disorder without medical monitoring is potentially dangerous. The active principle in these salts is the lithium ion Li+, which interacts with the normal function of sodium ions to produce numerous changes in the neurotransmitter activity of the brain. Therapeutically useful amounts of lithium are only slightly lower than toxic amounts when lithium carbonate or lithium citrate are used, so the blood levels of lithium must be carefully monitored during treatment. When lithium orotate is used, these near-toxic levels of lithium are not reached as only very small amounts of lithium are administered for treatment.

Note: This is a potentially biased representation of the merit of this substance especially as an alternative to patentable drugs. This article is in need of a counterpoint offered by an expert naturopath or other qualified health practitioner not utilizing drugs as a sole treatment for depression and/or other diseases.

[pumpingiron]

Originally Posted by Wise Young

What are you thinking of using it for? I strongly suggest that people *do not* try lithium on their own. It is toxic at overdose levels and must be taken under close clinical supervision. Here is an article about lithium orotate in Wikipedia that I agree with. Note the caveats...

I was on a supplement site looking at protein powders and came across Lithium Orotate Supplement and i have heard or read about lithium and stem cells so i was wondering what lithium orotate was all about and was wondering if it helped neural stem cells also. I had Dr huang OEG cells done and he injected neural stem cells in my back also last May and was wondering if Lithium would help at all.

[Wise Young]

Originally Posted by pumpingiron

I was on a supplement site looking at protein powders and came across Lithium Orotate Supplement and i have heard or read about lithium and stem cells so i was wondering what lithium orotate was all about and was wondering if it helped neural stem cells also. I had Dr huang OEG cells done and he injected neural stem cells in my back also last May and was wondering if Lithium would help at all.

By last May, do you mean May 2007? I don't know whether lithium will have any effect when given alongside OEG cells. This is the kind of question that should be answered in clinical trial. I don't think that this has been studied in animals, even.

Wise.

[pumpingiron]

Originally Posted by Wise Young

By last May, do you mean May 2007? I don't know whether lithium will have any effect when given alongside OEG cells. This is the kind of question that should be answered in clinical trial. I don't think that this has been studied in animals, even.

Wise.

Thank you Dr Young for answering my questions. Yes May 2007 is when i was there and had it done. Dr huang also did lumbar injections with neural stem cells. So i was just wondering if Lithium Orotate would help the neural stem cells.

[manouli]

Originally Posted by Wise Young

What are you thinking of using it for? I strongly suggest that people *do not* try lithium on their own. It is toxic at overdose levels and must be taken under close clinical supervision. Here is quite an article about lithium orotate in Wikipedia. Note caveats...

Dr. Young, they will start clinical trials for chronic spinal cord injury using lithium soon.


Safety and Pharmacokinetics Study of Oral Lithium in Patients With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

This study is not yet open for patient recruitment.
Verified by The University of Hong Kong February 2007



quote:

The planned treatment trials will focus on the effects of oral lithium on neurological function in people with chronic spinal cord injury and those that have received umbilical cord blood mononuclear cell transplants to the spinal cord. The interest in these two treatments derives from recent reports indicating that umbilical cord blood stem cells may be beneficial for spinal cord injury and that lithium may promote regeneration and recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Both lithium and umbilical cord blood are widely available therapies that have long been used to treat diseases in humans.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00431171?order=1

[Wise Young]

Manouii,

That is the trial that I have organized. We have already started.

Wise.

Originally Posted by manouli

Dr. Young, they will start clinical trials for chronic spinal cord injury using lithium soon.


Safety and Pharmacokinetics Study of Oral Lithium in Patients With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

This study is not yet open for patient recruitment.
Verified by The University of Hong Kong February 2007



quote:

The planned treatment trials will focus on the effects of oral lithium on neurological function in people with chronic spinal cord injury and those that have received umbilical cord blood mononuclear cell transplants to the spinal cord. The interest in these two treatments derives from recent reports indicating that umbilical cord blood stem cells may be beneficial for spinal cord injury and that lithium may promote regeneration and recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Both lithium and umbilical cord blood are widely available therapies that have long been used to treat diseases in humans.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00431171?order=1

[Wise Young]

Originally Posted by pumpingiron

Thank you Dr Young for answering my questions. Yes May 2007 is when i was there and had it done. Dr huang also did lumbar injections with neural stem cells. So i was just wondering if Lithium Orotate would help the neural stem cells.

Pumpin,

Did Dr. Huang injected neural stem cells or olfactory ensheathing glial cells?

Wise.

[kenf]

Dr. Young , how are things looking so far? thank you

[pumpingiron]

Originally Posted by Wise Young

Pumpin,

Did Dr. Huang injected neural stem cells or olfactory ensheathing glial cells?

Wise.

He injected both first was olfactory ensheathing glial cells and about a week later he did lumbar injections of neural stem cells.