SAMe mitigates major depression

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

10.06.2022

Supplementing with S-adenosyl-methionine, commonly abbreviated as SAMe, improves mood, according to the supplement industry. According to an Italian review study, this may well be true.

SAMe mitigates major depression

Study

Italian psychiatrists at the University of Siena collected 11 studies in which subjects with severe depression acted as test subjects. A total of 1011 people participated in the studies as test subjects.

The dosage in the trials ranged from 200 to 3200 milligrams per day. The route of administration was usually oral.

The trials lasted 2 to 12 weeks.

Click on the table below for a larger version.

Results
If we limit ourselves to the 8 trials in which subjects were given supplements instead of injections, 2 trials concluded that SAMe alone was a more effective antidepressant than a placebo.

4 trials concluded that SAMe performed as well as a pharmacological antidepressant. 2 trials saw no difference between SAMe and a placebo.

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Mechanism
SAMe increases the production of neurotransmitters in the brain, according to fundamental research.

Conclusion
"SAMe, used as monotherapy or combined with other antidepressants, is well tolerated and may improve major depressive disorder symptoms", write the Italians.

"Nonetheless, they may provide a useful strategy for migraineurs who need to treat headaches and who are overweight and/or experience a weight increase as a side effect of cyclic prophylactic treatments for migraines."

"The existing findings are encouraging, but further, well-designed, randomised, controlled clinical trials are needed to provide definitive evidence about SAMe efficacy and tolerability, both as monotherapy and as adjunctive treatment."

Source:
Ann Gen Psychiatry. 2020 Sep 5;19:50.

More:
Animal study: SAM-e inhibits breast cancer 27.03.2018
SAM-e as effective as anti-inflammatories for joint pain 08.10.2009
SAM-e causes rise in testosterone 04.05.2009

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