Monthly Archives November 2010

Nutrition, Neuronal Protection and Depression Neuronal protection (protection against cognitive decline) requires glutathione peroxidase (a crucial enzyme which requires selenium, cysteine, carotenoids, zinc,  and vitamin E) is an important aspect of the treatment of mood disorders both because they tend to be recurrent over one’s life, and because they are associated with neuronal loss in specific parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus. R-lipoic acid, vitamin C and omega 3 fatty acids are also critical to neuronal protection. Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Vitamin D, and Depression There are numerous studies of the efficacy of omega 3 EFA’s in depression.  A recent large-scale
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Nutrition, Methylation, and Depression Nutritional support for the methylation cycle is another area in which nutrition plays a critical role.  The methylation cycle is essential for mental and physical health.  It is critical to the metabolism of catecholamines in the synapse via an enzyme (COMT) as well as the synthesis of ‘depression-relevant’ compounds such as melatonin, myelin basic protein, carnitine, CoQ10, etc.  Methylation is required to inactivate histamine. Basic nutrients necessary for normal function of this cycle include B12, glycine, serine, activated B6, selenium, cysteine, methionine and folic acid. Several studies have shown the utility of folic acid as an adjunct to medication
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Efficacy and Use of Medications in the Treatment of Depression It is becoming widely recognized that the current treatment of mood disorders (such as depression), while offering better outcomes than several decades ago, leave much room for improvement. The remission rate at the end of the first phase of the well-publicized STAR-D study (1) was only 25%. In fact, a recent review of 4 meta analyses of the effectiveness of anti-depressants by PIGOTT(2) found that of the 4041 patients initially started on citalopram in the STAR=D study, (after 4 trials of medication combinations and psychotherapy), only 108 of those who
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