Posted by Adam on February 6, 2000, at 10:25:06
In reply to Re: Omega Oils (salmon oils, flaxseed oil, etc.), posted by ChrisK on February 6, 2000, at 6:12:45
Thank you very much for that reference, ChrisK.
One thing I found very interesting was the link to phosphatidylinositol: I think the authors are suggesting that Omega-3s or some metabolite thereof are incorporated chemically into the cell membrane phospholipids, and render these fatty acids resistant to conversion into second messengers. This is fascinating, and fits very well into the theory of PI metabolism, for instance, and intositol triphosphate in bipolar disorder.
Re. what JohnL said about targeting specific illnesses with specific compounds, and the frustrations one experiences with Dx not doing much to inform the proper Rx: I think in some cases biochemistry and diagnosis do correspond. Maybe this is often fortuitous, maybe it is the work of a keen diagnostician. Anyway, some diagnoses I think are easier to make than others, like OCD and bipolar disorder.
On that note, it seems to me, from what I've read, that what is good for OCD may not be good at all for bipolar disorder. Take inositol: I the few studies of this supplement that have been done, it's been shown that myo-inositol actually can aggravate bipolar symptoms, while it seems to be helpful for OCD. Other research on SSRIs and 5-HT1C receptor agonists support the signal transduction theory of OCD: the postsynaptic events appear to involve inositol triphosphate-mediated signalling as opposed to, say, DAG.
Of course this is just a stab, but maybe OCD-types ought to avoid Omega-3s and try inositol, and bipolar types should do just the opposite.
One interesting note: I think there are at least two papers that have demostrated that inositol as an adjunct to SSRI treatment of OCD has no efficacy. One double-blinded controlled study with a reasonable but not impressive N showed efficacy with inositol alone.
The doctors in the paper ChrisK cites don't like the idea of Omega-3s as a first-line or monotherapy for bipolar disorder.
So, if you need meds for bipolar disorder, stay on them and augment with omega-3s if you think it helps.
If you're taking meds for OCD (almost certainly an SSRI), chances are augmenting with inositol won't do anything for you.
The nice thing about the above two is they are such benign compounds, even in large doses, that the risks of a trial are minimal. All you have to lose, really, is some money.
As far as I know, there is no research available on the use of inositol to aument an MAOI. I have OCD, so I'm going to try that in about a month. I think I'll steer clear of the Omega-3s except to keep eating fish, which I'm trying to do more these days just to keep healthy.
Interesting stuff.
> Try this for a report about oils from Psychiatry Times. It explains some of the testing and theories going on currently.
>
> http://www.mhsource.com/pt/p991211.html
poster:Adam
thread:20564
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000128/msgs/20613.html