Lithium salts have shown promise in treating Alzheimer’s disease by preventing certain proteins in the brain from clumping together, but how they affect cells on a broader scale remains largely unexplored. A recent study published in the journal Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy reveals that lithium chloride alters multiple cellular pathways beyond its primary target, changing the activity of various enzymes and structural proteins linked to dementia. These results suggest that modifying the type of lithium used in medical treatments could improve outcomes for patients experiencing memory loss and cognitive decline. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, characterized by two main physical features in the brain. The first is the buildup of amyloid-beta, a protein that forms sticky plaques between nerve cells. The second involves a protein called Tau, which normally helps stabilize the internal structure of brain cells. In people with dementia, Tau undergoes a chemical alteration called hyperphosphorylation. Phosphorylation is a normal chemical reaction where enzymes called kinases attach small chemical tags, known as phosphate groups, to a protein. These tags act …