Uridine & Treatment of Depression

Manic depression (sometimes referred to as bipolar disorder) affects more than 2 million adults in the United States and is usually diagnosed in late adolescence or early adulthood. There are approximately 20 million adults in the United States who experience major depression and the World Health Organization considers major depression the second leading cause of disability. A recent research study conducted at the McLean Hospital (part of the Harvard University Medical School) suggests that uridine therapy can offer solutions for the treatment of depression.

Bipolar Disorder and Major Depression

• Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is an illness marked by extreme changes in mood, thought, energy and behavior in which a person's mood can alternate between the mania (highs) and depression (lows). Unipolar major depression is an extremely common condition characterized by a sustained low mood or loss of interest in one's usual activities, combined with low energy, poor concentration, changes in appetite and sleep, and often, suicidal urges.

Current Treatments and Limitations

• According to researchers at the McLean Hospital, current drug therapy for bipolar disorder includes the use of lithium or valproic acid; however, side effects are frequent and troublesome, and patients don't respond fully, leading to frequent recurrences of mania and depression. While there are a number of drugs available to treat major depression, most notably Prozac and Zoloft, current therapy is limited by side effects, including weight gain, anxiety and sexual dysfunction. In addition, as in bipolar disorder, many patients with major depression remain recalcitrant to therapy.

Recent Breakthroughs

• Uridine is part of a family of compounds called pyrimidines, and is usually involved in many of the body's processes such as the use of energy by cells. In their clinical trial proposal, the research team at the McLean Hospital describe how uridine affects the synthesis of nerve cell membranes and their fluidity, which in turn has an impact on all transactions that must take place. In addition, uridine influences the levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine. Both are important brain chemicals that affect mood, mobility and general arousal. A study conducted at McLean Hospital placed rats in a tank of water where they had no choice but to swim. When exhaustion and futility settled in, they began to float--a sign of depression. The rats who were given uridine began swimming again, showing that it had a positive impact on reducing depressive symptoms. As of 2009, the University of Utah Department of Psychology was conducting an ongoing study to see if the oral uridine reduces depression symptoms in adolescents with bipolar disorder.

Uridine and Food

• Uridine is found in a variety of foods, most notably sugar cane, tomatoes and brewer's yeast, which is high in ribonucleic acid, also known as RNA. In addition to brewer's yeast, broccoli, molasses, sugar beets and organ meats such as liver are high in RNA, and are a good source of uridine.

Considerations

• Several studies have shown that combining uridine with omega-3 fatty acids improves symptoms of depression, but additional research is needed before the correlation can be established.