[ad_1]
Photo: AFP
(Caracas, July 30. News24) A team of researchers established a link between depression and low blood levels of acetylcarnitine, synthesized naturally in the body and also marketed as a nutritional supplement, according to a study published today in the journal PNAS.
The discovery, which is based on extensive research with animals, paves the way for a new class of antidepressants that could be "more free of side effects and action "faster than those currently used, according to one of the lead authors, Natalie Rasgon.
Depression, also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is the most prevalent mood disorder in the United States and the world, affecting between 8 and 10 percent of the general population at a given moment.
"This is the main reason for abse's attitude at work and one of the leading causes of suicide.Worse, current drug treatments are only effective for about 50 to one hundred of those prescribed to them ", regretted Rasgon.
In rodent experiments, acetylcarnitine deficiency associated with behavior similar to depression, while oral or intravenous administration of this substance reversed the symptoms of animals and restored normal behavior.
Animals responded to supplementation with acetylcarnitine in a few days. In contrast, current antidepressants took two to four weeks to appear, in both mice and patients.
"Acetylcarnitine is a crucial mediator of the body's fat metabolism and energy production and plays a special role in the brain," says another author, Carla Nasca, Rockefeller University of New York (United States)
In a parallel analysis of the same team, Nasca and colleagues studied men and women aged 20 to 70 who had been diagnosed with depression. 19659004] Comparing their blood samples with those of 45 individuals matched demographically, found that acetylcarnitine levels in patients' blood were "significantly lower," according to the authors. [1965] 19659004] A more detailed report showed that the lowest levels were among the participants whose symptoms were more severe, the medical records indicated that they were resistant to previous treatments o u that the appearance of the disorder was early.
Acetylcarnitine levels were also lower in patients who reported a history of abuse, abandonment, poverty, or exposure to violence in childhood
With information EFE
Post Views:
461
[ad_2]
Source link
