18 Comments
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Leigh Horne's avatar

News I could really use, like a breath of fresh air and wonderment. Muchas Gracias.

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Pamela S.'s avatar

I enjoyed every word of this piece and learned some new things. Thank you for pulling together these disparate wonders for us, Brian.

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Brian Klaas's avatar

My pleasure. It makes my life a little weird.

"What did you do today?"

"Oh, I spent 7 hours reading about comb jellies, with quite a long detour to explore the evolution of their anuses"

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Pamela S.'s avatar

😆 No doubt!

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Susan Linehan's avatar

well, this 80 something just used her as yet unimpaired Google skills to see what foods might have lithium. Hot damn. A bunch I can actually eat! (My dietary restrictions have long passed absurd.) No, I know it isn't likely to make me a sharp mouse. But I can now cheerfully eat sunflower seed butter while channeling my inner comb jelly and figure I might be aging backwards Maybe is good enough at this point.

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Dan Stanton's avatar

Thanks for this. My late mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her early 70s. It is an awful disease. It is wonderful to hear there may be hope.

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Brian Klaas's avatar

I'm very sorry to hear that, Dan. There is hope. The mid-21st century, I suspect, is going to be defined by neuroscience -- and I'm optimistic that findings like these are going to be coming thick and fast in the coming years. Fingers crossed the treatments come sooner rather than later.

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Tara Y's avatar

Didn’t lithium used to be a treatment (or still may be?) for bipolar disorder? Fascinating that it can have so many positive impacts on the brain…

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Laurence Hills's avatar

Thank you for mentioning The Life of Chuck. I saw it about a month ago and enjoyed every minute of it. In fact I went back to the theatre two nights later and saw it again.

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Andy Brice's avatar

I went to watch 'The life of chuck' with my wife, based purely on your recommendation. It took a bit of persuading her that she should trust the judgement of someone she had never heard of. But we both really enjoyed it. Thanks!

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Brian Klaas's avatar

Very glad to hear that! I can imagine skepticism in the first bit as you're like...what is going on...but I thought it was a really profound and moving film.

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Katie's avatar

Superb! Thanks for sharing your delights so that we too may be delighted!

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M Randall's avatar

Wonderful. Thank you. As a diver and sailor the salty world is enormously interesting. We ignore and abuse it at our own peril.

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Pediatrics On The Front Line's avatar

Let us count the number of animal studies that do not result in useful human treatments. They are legion.

For those that lead to valid treatments, the development of useful drugs takes years.

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Brian Klaas's avatar

Yes, indeed -- I mentioned that cavet. But at least in this case, the useful drug would presumably just be lithium orotate, which doesn't require development--it already exists. They just need clinical trials.

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J. M. Mikkalsson's avatar

Brain Food, literally. I'm going to begin taking Lithium. Thank you

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Brian Klaas's avatar

I would be very cautious about doing that on the basis of this study alone - definitely talk to a doctor first!

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J. M. Mikkalsson's avatar

Thank you. I understand you are not promoting the use of Lithium in small doses and need to make that clear to your readers. But for someone my age, whose sister was just diagnosed with Alzheimers, it was good news. I shared your essay with my sister’s daughter. I know Lithium in high doses is used to treat bi-polar. Since reading your essay I’ve read more about taking it in small doses. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11954165/

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