As shown by a recent clinical study, the disease-modifying effects of lithium are remarkably significant in ALS patients carrying genetic variations in the UNC13 presynaptic protein, which are associated with FTD, ALS/FTD spectrum and psychiatric disorders as well (Diekstra et al., 2014; Lipstein et al., 2017; Nakamura et al., 2018). Here, UNC13B is linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.