L-methylfolate, also known as Levomefolic acid or 5-MTHF, is an important kind of medical component for depression. It is a depression-resistant recommended by some experts in treating people with depressive disorder. Now, more and more institutions are conducting a research about this kind of treatment.
PHOENIX – L-Methylfolate represents an effective and well-tolerated adjunctive therapy for patients with major depressive disorder who fail to respond adequately to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors – particularly those patients with certain biomarkers and genotypes associated with metabolic dysfunction.
The folate derivative, which is categorized as a trimonoamine modulator, was shown in a 2011 double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-sequential study of 75 patients with SSRI-resistant major depressive disorder to be superior to placebo as an adjunctive therapy when given at a dose of 15 mg/day.
In that study, the pooled difference in response rates on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) after 30 days between patients who received adjunctive L-methylfolate and those who received SSRI therapy plus placebo was 17.7%, Dr. George I. Papakostas, one of the study authors, said at a meeting of the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health.
The pooled differences in mean change on the HDRS-17 and HDRS-28 also differed significantly between the groups, indicating greater improvement in depressive symptoms in the L-methylfolate group, he reported.
Greater improvement also was demonstrated on secondary outcome measures, including changes in scores on the patient-rated Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR) and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity Scale (CGI-S), in those who received L-methylfolate, said Dr. Papakostas of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
In a new analysis looking at secondary genomic and biomarker end points and their association with treatment effect, it was noted that effects were similar in patients with baseline L-methylfolate levels below and above the median. However, a greater treatment effect was observed in patients with an allelic variant in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotype. There was a difference in mean change in HDRS-28 of –3.75 for those with the “t” allele, compared with –1.99 for the “cc” allele, Dr. Papakostas reported….More at Biomarkers Linked to L-Methylfolate Effectiveness for Depression – Family Practice News Digital Network
Depression is a curable disease that takes a lot of determination for you to help yourself get through it. Whether you are using antidepressants or not, what matter most is that you would get the right help from the health experts.
One effective treatment for depression is the use of antidepressants. This helps balance chemical activities in the body which tends to treat mood dysfunctions and other mental disorders.
RT @yobluemama2: Three GSK clinical trials failed to demonstrate Paxil’s effectiveness for treating depression in children http://t.co/ViBikrYH
— FearLoathingBTX (Fear Loathing) (@FearLoathingBTX) Thu Jul 5 2012
