Could Lithium Help Treat Acute Kidney Injury?

A recent study shows that the mood stabilizer lithium may be able to help treat acute kidney injury.

As there are currently no effective therapies to treat the issue, a condition that affects approximately 5 percent of all hospitalized patients, with approximately 25 percent to 30 percent of patients ending up in intensive care units, the study authors set out to investigate a possible treatment.

The researchers explain how glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β works an as an enzyme that plays a major role in blocking the development of acute kidney inury. Yet the enzyme could also be blocked through the use of inhibitors such as small chemical compounds and lithium.

This mood stabilizer is often used to treat those with mental issues, including bipolar disorders.

Lead researchers Hui Bao, MD, Ph.D., Rujun Gong, M.D., Ph.D. of the Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University School of Medicine found that a single dose of lithium can help acute kidney injury blocks GSK3 β that are typically found in injured kidneys to promote tissue repair and accelerate recovery function of the organ via an experiment with mice.

"Our work suggests that lithium might represent a novel, pragmatic, and affordable therapy to improve kidney recovery after AKI," Gong said in a news release.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).