A Positive Depression Study

A Positive Depression Study

According to a recent article in USA Today, 19 million Americans suffer from depression. Only irritable bowel syndrome is more prevalent with a staggering 40 million sufferers.

With the outcome of studies like these, depression has developed a new awareness and grown in recognition as a treatable illness. The National Institutes of Mental Health says the anti-depressive therapeutic market has grown to over $12 billion.

Approximately 40% of depressed patients suffer from symptoms while taking a MAOI antidepressant medication. MAOIs, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, are used to treat the largest form of depression and can cause side effects ranging from weight gain, carbohydrate craving and chronic fatigue. Some doctors may not prescribe antidepressant medications due to these side effects and drug interactions.

Dr. Jonathan Davidson, of Duke University Medical Center, enacted an initial clinical study on a supplement with a Chromium Picolinate base for use as nutrition therapy for depression. These results were presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Annual College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and have been accepted for publication in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry.

A White Plains, NY based company, Comprehensive NeuroScience, Inc. (CNS), will hope to confirm Dr. Davidson's results in a larger, more diverse, multi-site trial, and expect these to be published early in 2004. CNS performs extensive clinical research, internationally and nationally, to develop and appropriate the use of new products and services to relieve neuropsychiatric illness. Their studies are "set to the highest standards for clinical trials."

"At CNS, we're very excited about the potential for Chromium Picolinate based approaches to depression. There is a clear need for well-researched products that effectively help patients with depressive symptoms. Should our large-scale studies validate the work of respected researchers and clinicians like Drs. McLeod, Golden and Davidson, then I would predict that...[there is]... a market much in need of better treatments for people with depression."

The common goal for companies in the health field that focus on nutrition therapy is to find the best product available to acquire a positive result with the least amount of side effects. At BioActive Nutrients, that philosophy has always rung true. Chromium Picolinate is a supplement known to regulate blood sugar and lower blood fat. It is also important for pregnant women because studies have shown that it can help prevent gestational diabetes.