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SAM-e May Boost Effects of Antidepressants

by Brandon on Sat Sep 04, 2010 2:45 am
Sept. 3, 2010 --SAM-e plus prescription antidepressants may spell relief for hard-to-treat depression, according to a new study published in the August 2010 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Short for S-adenosyl methionine, SAM-e is a dietary supplement that is often used in the treatment of depression.

"This is the first study that examines the use of oral SAM-e as an adjunctive therapy in patients with major depressive disorder who don't get better on standard antidepressants," says study author George Papakostas, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of treatment-resistant depression studies in the department of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

That said, "I would not recommend self-medicating with SAM-e or any other compound," he says. "The most important thing is to talk to your doctor if your antidepressant is not working and your doctor can recommend switching to another drug or adding another therapy."

Exactly how -- or even if -- SAM-e affects depression on its own or in combination with prescribed antidepressants is not known, but several theories exist. For example, SAM-e may target some of the same brain chemicals as certain prescription antidepressants, he says.
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