Zinc and Fatty Acids in Depression

Abstract

Polyunsaturated Fatty acids (PUFAs) seem to be helpful in the therapy of depression. Zinc (Zn) may be one co-factor contributing to their antidepressive effect. Zn acts lipid protective and is a constituent of fatty acid metabolism enzymes. In animals, an antidepressive effect of Zn was already demonstrated. Therefore, if and how Zn and PUFAs correlate in depressive patients or in individuals from the general population was investigated. Blood samples were collected from 88 depressive in-patients and 88 volunteers from the general population matched for age-group and gender (each 32 men and 56 women, 21-70 years) for measurement of Zn (colorimetric) and of 12 fatty acids (FAs) (by capillary gas-chromatography). Severity of depression in patients was assessed by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Zn concentration was independent of age, gender and body-mass-index and significantly correlated with the severity of depression measured by BDI (r = 0.26; P = 0.034) in depressive patients,. HDRS was inversely correlated with gammalinolenic acid concentration (r = -0.24; P = 0.029). Median serum Zn concentration in depressive patients did not differ from control individuals. Zn was correlated with myristic acid concentration (r = 0.22; P < 0.05) in controls from the general population; and a negative correlation between Zn and dihomogammalinolenic acid concentration (r = -0.26; P < 0.05) was found in depressive inpatients. FA composition in serum significantly differed between depressive and healthy persons: Depressive patients had higher stearic and arachidonic acid (AA) concentration. Relative to AA, their eicosapentaenoic and docosapentaenoic acid concentration were diminished compared to the general populations group. These results do not confirm the hypothesis of a general lack of Zn in depressive disorders, but Zn concentrations differed dependent on comorbid disorders and severity of depression. In depressive patients and control persons Zn concentration is associated with different FAs indicating diverging metabolic pathways.

Antidepressant-like effect of zinc is dependent on signaling pathways implicated in BDNF modulation

“…Serum zinc levels are reported to be decreased in depressed patients (Maes et al, 1999, Maes et al,1997Siwek et al, 2010) and increased after the treatment with antidepressants (Siwek et al, 2010). Notably, serum zinc levels were correlated with the severity of depression (Irmisch et al, 2010) and zinc supplementation improved the efficacy of antidepressants in patients that were resistant to drug therapy (Siwek et al, 2009). Recently, zinc monotherapy was reported to improve mood in overweight or obese subjects most likely by increasing BDNF levels (Solati et al, 2014).…”

Níveis de zinco sérico em pacientes internados com depressão

“…Como já demonstrado previamente, pacientes deprimidos, com deficiência de zinco, apresentaram normalização dos valores séricos após o tratamento com antidepressivos 13,16 . Apesar de a literatura evidenciar deficiência de zinco em pacientes com depressão [13][14][15][16] , assim como no presente estudo, outros autores que avaliaram pacientes adultos internados em episódio depressivo encontraram níveis do mineral dentro do padrão de normalidade 17,18 . Em parte, a deficiência de zinco em pacientes com depressão poderia ser explicada pelo sequestro de zinco por metalotioneínas (MTs) no fígado, o que parece estar relacionado a um aumento da atividade de citocinas pró-inflamató-rias, como interleucina-1 e 6 (IL-1, IL-6) 25 .…”

“…Enquanto alguns trabalhos demonstram uma associação inversa entre níveis de zinco e depressão [13][14][15][16] , em outros, os valores encontrados ficam dentro da normalidade 17,18 . Irmisch et al 18 , apesar de não confirmarem a hipótese de níveis reduzidos de zinco sérico em transtornos depressivos, ressaltam que as concentrações do mineral diferem de acordo com a gravidade da doença.…”

Correlation between postpartum depression and omega-3, micronutrients

“…47 While the hypothesis that a general Zn deficiency is present in depressive disorders has not been corroborated, Zn concentrations differ based on accompanying disorders and severity of depression. 48 In a study by Wójcik et al, a negative correlation was discovered between serum zinc levels measured on the third and 30 th days following giving birth and the scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). 49 While the EPDS score on the third day following giving birth is significantly higher (45%) than on the 30 th day, serum zinc concentration was found to be 24% lower.…”