 S-Adenosyl methionine (SAMe) occurs naturally in the body, crosses the blood-brain barrier and has proven effective treating depression and joint pain. It increases serotonin and dopamine levels and improves brain and nerve cell membrane fluidity. S Adenosyl Methionine, SAMe, is produced in the body, from the amino acid methionine and Adenosyl Triphosphate, ATP. Conversion of methionine to SAMe is frequently impaired in cirrhosis and chronic liver disease. Studies reveal methionine supplementation does not increase SAMe level, in cirrhosis patients, since SAMe synthetase enzyme levels are inadequate. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial performed in 220 patients with chronic liver disease revealed bilirubin decreased about 45 % with oral SAMe supplementation at 1,200 milligrams daily. Almasio P, Bortolini M, Pagliaro L, Coltorti M Role of S-adenosyl-L-methionine in the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis. Drugs. 1990;40 Suppl 3:111-23S Adenosyl Methionine increased phosphatidyl choline levels in alcoholic liver disease. Alcoholic liver disease reduces levels of phosphatidyl choline, a major component of cell membranes. SAMe produced increased glutathione levels in alcohol impaired livers and increased time till liver transplant was required. Lieber, C. S-Adenosyl-L-methionine: its role in the treatment of liver disorders. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76(suppl):1183S–7S Bell, K, et. al., (1994) conducted a double blind, placebo controlled study comparing SAMe to desipramine, in a 4 week trial with 26 depressed patients, at University of California, Irvine. SAMe produced improvement in 62 percent of patients, compared to 50 percent of patients treated with desipramine. Regardless of treatment, patients exhibiting a decrease of 50 percent or more in Hamilton Depression Scale, showed significant increases in plasma SAMe level. Salmaggi, P, et. al., (1993) found significantly greater improvement in depressed postmenopausal women treated with 1600 milligrams SAMe, than placebo. During the 30 day, double blind test of 80 women, between 45 and 59 years old, SAMe evidenced superiority by day 10 and side effects were mild. Amen, D. and Routh, L., (2003) have found SAMe useful for depression. Jacob Teitelbaum, MD (2003) recovered from chronic fatigue syndrome, and recommends 200 to 800 milligrams SAMe, twice per day, for depressed chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia sufferers, stating improvement can be expected in 10 days. |
