Antidepressant-like effects of uridine and omega-3 fatty acids are potentiated by combined treatment in rats
by
Carlezon WA Jr, Mague SD, Parow AM,
Stoll AL, Cohen BM, Renshaw PF.
Department of Psychiatry,
Harvard Medical School,
McLean Hospital, Belmont,
Massachusetts, USA.
carlezon@mclean.harvard.edu
Biol Psychiatry. 2005 Feb 15;57(4):343-50

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Brain phospholipid metabolism and membrane fluidity may be involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. We showed previously that cytidine, which increases phospholipid synthesis, has antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test (FST) in rats, a model used in depression research. Because cytidine and uridine both stimulate synthesis of cytidine 5'-diphosphocholine (CDP-choline, a critical substrate for phospholipid synthesis), we examined whether uridine would also produce antidepressant-like effects in rats. We also examined the effects of omega-3 fatty acids (OMG), which increase membrane fluidity and reportedly have antidepressant effects in humans, alone and in combination with uridine. METHODS: We first examined the effects of uridine injections alone and dietary supplementation with OMG alone in the FST. We then combined sub-effective treatment regimens of uridine and OMG to determine whether these agents would be more effective if administered together. RESULTS: Uridine dose-dependently reduced immobility in the FST, an antidepressant-like effect. Dietary supplementation with OMG reduced immobility when given for 30 days, but not for 3 or 10 days. A sub-effective dose of uridine reduced immobility in rats given sub-effective dietary supplementation with OMG. CONCLUSIONS: Uridine and OMG each have antidepressant-like effects in rats. Less of each agent is required for effectiveness when the treatments are administered together.

Cytidine
Essential fatty acids
Evolution and emotion
The evolution of suicide
Shakespearean suicides
Omega-3 plus antidepressant
Alcohol, suicide and serotonin
How stress triggers depression
Suicide, serotonin and dopamine
Omega-3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder
Depression and polyunsaturated fatty acids
Ethyl-eicosapentaenoate as an antidepressant
Unsaturated fatty acid deficiency and dopamine

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