14 DAY TRIAL // A group of investigators with the Sunnybrook Research Institute at the University of Toronto, in Canada, were recently able to link the development of depression with low zinc levels in the human body. This interesting connection highlights new potential avenues for combating this disorder.
The research was in fact a meta-analysis of available studies on this topic, collected from a large number of scientific journals. Details of the review were published in the latest issue of the esteemed scientific journal Biological Psychiatry.
For this study, scientists led by expert Walter Swardfager, PhD, measured the circulating blood concentrations of zinc in a number of depressed and healthy patients. The team determined that people who were depressed had significantly lower amounts of the chemical in their bloodstream.
At the same time, the new paper indicates that adding zinc to conventional antidepressant therapies may improve their effectiveness, as well as increase their speed. This is only the latest in a series of studies on the effects of chemicals such as zinc and lithium on mental disorders.
“A growing body of evidence demonstrates that experimental zinc deficiency can induce depressive-like behavior in animals, which can be effectively reversed by zinc supplementation,” Swardfager explains, quoted by PsychCentral.
The researcher said that the new meta-analysis analyzed a total of 17 studies that included 1,643 depressed patients and 804 healthy test subjects. The purpose was to determine whether or not lowered blood zinc levels could be associated with depression. Swardfager argues that the results say yes.
“Although association studies cannot determine the direction of causation, a causal association between zinc status and depression is biologically plausible. Zinc has antioxidant properties, helps to maintain endocrine homeostasis and immune function, and plays multiple roles in regulating [brain circuits] and cognitive function,” the team says in the research paper.
“Thus, changes in zinc [balance] might compromise neuroplasticity and contribute to long-term neuropsychological and psychiatric decline,” the scientists add. Zinc is a very important chemical for the human body, since it plays a role in fatty acid metabolism and in controlling serum lipid levels.
According to some studies, low zinc levels in the blood have also been associated with the development of cardiovascular disease, a condition that often accompanies a severe form of depression called major depressive disorder (MDD).
“The pathophysiological relationships between zinc status and depression, and the potential benefits of zinc supplementation in depressed patients, warrant further investigation,” the team concludes.