Posted by SLS on June 11, 2011, at 5:29:43
In reply to NAC effective for Bipolar Depression, posted by Phillipa on June 10, 2011, at 21:35:24
It is important to note that it can take as long as six months for NAC to yield results.
This makes some sense as mitochondrial turnover is slow in general and slower in some age-related illnesses. It can take a long time for the damaged mitochondria to be replaced by new, healthy ones. Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to contribute to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Stress in general can place oxidative stress on mitochondria, so depression and anxiety might represent other conditions for which NAC may help, even though there is no evidence to date indicating this.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19664343"Chang Gung Med J. 2009 Jul-Aug;32(4):370-9.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and psychiatric disorders.
Jou SH, Chiu NY, Liu CS.
SourceDepartment of Psychiatry, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
AbstractMitochondria are intracellular organelles crucial in the production of cellular energy. Mitochondrial diseases may result from malfunctions in this biochemical cascade. Several investigators have proposed that mitochondrial dysfunction is related to the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SZ). The authors reviewed recent study findings and tried to delineate the current understanding of the correlation between mitochondrial dysfunction and psychiatric disorders. A growing body of evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction is important in patients with psychiatric disorders. The evidence include impaired energy metabolism in the brain detected using results of magnetic resonance spectroscopy, electron microscopy, co-morbidity with mitochondrial diseases, the effects of psychotropics on mitochondria, increased mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletion in the brain, and association with mtDNA mutations/polymorphisms or nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes. It is possible that the new information will lead to a focus on psychiatric disorder as a metabolic disease. Treatment with psychotropics might ultimately enhance energy metabolism and reduce the damage of oxidative stress. The next step in the study of mitochondrial dysfunction in patients with psychiatric disorders should be clarification of how mitochondrial dysfunction, a nonspecific risk factor, causes specific symptoms. Further study of mitochondrial dysfunction in patients with psychiatric disorder is expected to be useful for the development of cellular disease markers and new psychotropics.
PMID:
19664343
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]"
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.
poster:SLS
thread:987698
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110610/msgs/987712.html