When Lady Gaga recently spoke in an interview about taking lithium while suffering from a “psychotic break”, it drew attention to a drug that has long been used in psychiatry but is less widely understood outside it.
Lithium has been used in psychiatric care for more than 70 years, most notably to treat bipolar disorder. Alongside this renewed attention, a recent study has explored whether much lower doses of lithium might help protect the ageing brain – raising questions about whether its effects could extend beyond mental health treatment.
