Your Health

New Therapy Approach May Help People With Major Depression

Posted: 9/30/2011

A form of folate has been found to help people with depression feel better when they take their medication.

(NAPSI)—There’s new hope for people who suffer from hard-to-treat depression—and it may be as simple as adding a form of folate to existing therapies.

Scientists have long suspected an association between folate deficiency and depression. Recent findings reported by the American Psychiatric Association show that adding Deplin (15 mg L-methylfolate), a prescription form of folate, to common medicines for depression—known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (or SSRIs)—Significantly improved the benefits of the antidepressant therapy when compared to prescribing antidepressants alone.

The data showed higher response rates after 30 days in patients who received Deplin with an SSRI, compared to patients who received the SSRI and a placebo.

Before beginning in the study, all patients had to demonstrate partial or no response to one or two SSRIs. Adverse events that caused patients to discontinue treatment were no different in the Deplin 15 mg and SSRI group than in the placebo and SSRI group.

L-methylfolate is the only form of folate that can cross the blood-brain barrier to help regulate serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, the chemicals associated with mood. In this study, L-methylfolate was chosen because of its ability to be easily absorbed as well as its safety benefits compared to folic acid and other synthetic folates.

Up to 70 percent of people who suffer from depression may have a specific genetic factor that compromises their ability to convert folate from food or synthetic folic acid into L-methylfolate.

Deplin is a prescription medical food for the dietary management of the metabolic imbalances associated with depression. It is available by prescription only.

More information about Deplin can be found on its website, www.deplin.com, and by asking your doctor.