Folate Deficiency in Depressive Illness

Abstract

Two reports have shown that a substantial proportion of patients suffering from various psychiatric syndromes have low serum folate concentrations (Hunter, Jones Jones and Matthews, 1967; Carney, 1967). The present investigation was concerned to examine further the prevalence of low serum folate in a series of depressive patients on admission to hospital. As folate deficiency contributes to the development of mental symptoms in epileptic patients (Reynolds, 1968), we also examined the relationship of low serum folate concentrations to the severity of the depressive illness, certain personality traits, and the response to anti-depressant treatment. The relationship of low serum folate to variables which could influence it such as diet and drugs was also examined. In a proportion of these patients serum folate measurements were repeated just before the patient's discharge. Serum B12 concentrations were also estimated.

Folic acid and the treatment of depression

“…We have previously found that both plasma and red blood cell folate concentrations were on average about 24% lower in drug-free, acutely ill depressed patients than in normal control subjects and that lower serum folate concentrations were associated with greater severity of depression [2]. An earlier study by Reynolds et al [3] showed that the therapeutic outcome following antidepressant or electroconvulsive therapy was inferior if the plasma folate was low. High plasma folate levels are also important for the continuation treatment of depression.…”

The relationship between serum folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels in major depressive disorder and the timing of improvement with fluoxetine

“…Furthermore, a number of studies also report patients with MDD to have low or lower folate concentrations more commonly than patients with other psychiatric disorders or normal comparison subjects (Abou-Saleh and Coppen, 1989 ;Carney and Sheffield, 1978 ;Ghadirian et al, 1980 ;Lee et al, 1998). In parallel, a number of studies also reveal the presence of low folate levels to have an adverse impact on the treatment of MDD Levitt et al, 1998 ;Reynolds et al, 1970). In a previous study conducted by our group, we found that MDD patients with pre-treatment serum folate levels f2.5 ng/ml were less likely to respond to an 8-wk, fixed-dose, open-trial of 20 mg fluoxetine .…”

Carences en folates (vitamine B9): vers une politique de santé publique en Afrique

“…Ces accepteurs cités parmi tant d'autres jouent un rôle important dans l'intégrité du système nerveux. Ainsi, la réduction de la synthèse de l'AdoMet, suite aux carences en folates, a été associée aux troubles neurologiques tels que la dépression, le retard mental, la démyéli-nisation [35][36][37].…”