NCMD Research Seminar Series 16th January 2026

NCMD Seminar Series 16th January 2026

Dr Victoria Wing, NIHR Clinical Fellow and Speciality Trainee in Psychiatry and Dr Becky Bates, Academic Clinical Fellow and Core Trainee in Psychiatry.

Presentation title:  An update on current lithium studies in CNTW: Lithium point of care testing (LiPOC) and Lithium Imaging in Alzhemiers Dementia (ILiAD)

Dr Vicky Wing: I am a Clinical Lecturer at the Northern Centre for Mood Disorders (NCMD), Newcastle University, funded by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR). Clinically I am undertaking speciality training in general adult psychiatry and currently work in the Regional Affective Disorders Service (RADS), a tertiary service for complex mood disorders, in the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust. My research focuses on optimising response to psychopharmacological treatments of mood disorders, in particular lithium, using pharmacokinetic modelling, response biomarkers and novel lithium-MRI methodology.

We will present two studies currently being run by Team Lithium at Newcastle University and CNTW.

LiPOC: Lithium is one of the most effective treatments for bipolar. People taking lithium need regular blood testing to ensure they are taking the right amount of lithium, as too little can be ineffective for symptoms and too much can result in serious side effects. However, studies within the NHS have shown that only half of patients taking lithium receive regular blood tests. This project aims to test a new system of lithium blood testing, called point-of-care testing which allows lithium levels to be measured by finger-prick testing, giving results within minutes. We expect this to be better than the current laboratory blood testing system, which can involve long waits for results, which are often not communicated to the patient or within their care team. Our overall future goal is to see whether point-of-care testing improves lithium monitoring and as a result leads to better physical and/or mental health outcomes for patients. We first need to test whether the new system is practicable: we will measure study recruitment and retention, blood monitoring compliance, acceptability to patients and healthcare professionals, and clinical outcomes. The study is taking place at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

ILiAD: There is a desperate need for new Alzheimer’s treatments but there is emerging evidence that lithium - an existing, widely used, and inexpensive drug - could help. Lithium has been used for decades as a treatment for people with mood disorders and there is evidence that it may reduce the risk of developing dementia and improves memory for these people. Recent clinical trials show it may slow transition from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. This project aims to understand how lithium may work in people with Alzheimer’s disease. We are using a type of brain imaging called magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with specially designed techniques to show where lithium acts within the brain, which has previously only been used to measure lithium at the higher doses used in bipolar disorder. This pilot study will involve a small group of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and age-matched healthy volunteers, who will receive low doses of lithium and then have MRI scans to visualise where lithium is in their brains. The aim of the study is to see if this technique can detect lithium at low doses and reveal the effects of lithium treatment in the brain in these different groups. The hope is that this will guide dosage levels for future lithium treatment trials and will help researchers understand how easy it is for people with Alzheimer’s to take lithium to ensure it is a viable treatment option.