Revista de Psicologia e Psicoterapia
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Effect of Ascorbic Acid on Mental Depression Drug Therapy:Clinical Study

Suhera M Aburawi, Fathia AGhambirlou, Asseid A Attumi, Rida A Altubuly and Ahmed A Kara

Introduction: Depression disorders are very common in clinical practice. Ascorbic acid is a cofactor in synthesis of Noradrenalin from Dopamine and serotonin from tryptophan. The objective of this work was to study the effect of ascorbic acid on the action of antidepressant drugs in a clinical setting. Clinical prospective double blind study was conducted to investigate the effect of ascorbic acid on mental depression therapy and the possible therapeutic interaction with the pharmacotherapy of the disease.

Methods: Patients (outpatients) were diagnosed for mental depression according to DSM-IV, with a base line Hamilton rating scale for depression. Patients were made aware of the objectives and the methods of the study, bearing in mind the interference of their knowing with experimental results. Patients were divided into two groups; one group received a tablet of ascorbic acid with the antidepressant (Group A; n=13 at the end of the study) and the other a tablet of placebo with the antidepressants (Group B; n=9 at the end of the study), for eight weeks. Laboratory investigation was conducted for all patients, at the beginning and at the end of the study, and included complete blood analysis, lipid profile, liver function test, renal function tests, serum electrolytes and complete urine analysis. The ascorbic acid levels in plasma were measured by HPLC.

Results: Ascorbic acid with antidepressants significantly decreased the total Hamilton depression rating scale. The main overall finding from this study is that ascorbic acid was therapeutically beneficial with antidepressant in the treatment of depression, and predicts a good response in treated patients using combined ascorbic acid with antidepressants.

Conclusion: The combination of ascorbic acid with antidepressants therapy is supported; a large scale trial with placebo control is warranted; also experimental work is needed for the effect of ascorbic acid on individual antidepressant drugs.