Acid folic supplementation in major depressive disorder treatment: A double-blind randomized clinical trial

Background: Augmentation therapy involves the addition of a second drug, such as mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and nutritional supplements, to a primary antidepressant treatment. Studies on adding folic acid to a preexisting antidepressive regimen as a form of augmentation therapy have had different and even controversial results. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effects that adding folic acid to a pharmaceutical diet with citalopram has on the treatment of depression. Methods: This double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted in Kashan, Iran on 90 patients who suffered from depression. Patients were allocated to study groups using random permuted blocks. One group (n=45) received a dosage of 20 mg citalopram in combination with 2.5mgfolic acid on a daily basis, and the other group (n=45) received the same daily dose of citalopram with a placebo for eight weeks. To measure the severity of each patient’s depression, the Beck depression inventory II (BDI-II) questionnaire was used prior to starting the antidepressant therapy and was repeated four, six, and eight weeks after beginning the treatment. A reduction from the original BDI-II scores that was greater than 50% was considered to be a response to treatment. Results: The average depression scores before treatment were 30.11±10.41 in the intervention group and 31.24±10.26 in the control group (P=0.6). At the end of the study, the depression scores in the intervention and the control groups were 13.31±6.57 and 19.11±8.59, respectively (P<0.001). A reduction in the average depression scores of the intervention group was statistically significant after six and eight weeks (P=0.01 and P=0.001, respectively). At the end of the study, the frequency of response to treatment was 73.3% in the intervention group and 40.0% in the control group (P<0.001). Conclusions: Folic acid, when used as a complementary therapy, can improve a patient’s response to antidepressants used for the treatment of major depression

Investigation the Effect of Carbamazepine on Acquisition Passive Avoidance Learning in Male Rat Model of Seizure

Introduction: Epilepsy is the most common disorder of the central nerves system. Patients suffering from epilepsy can experience a wide range of neuropsychological disorders such as impaired memory, disturbances in attention and information processing. Due to the effect of anticonvulsant carbamazepine and its effect on the memory and learning, the aim of this study was investigating the effect of Carbamazepine on passive avoidance learning in male rats seizure model. Methods: 30 male Wistar rats with an average weight of 230&plusmn;20 g were used in the study. Animals were randomly divided into 5 groups. Seizure was induced by administration of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ: 60 mg/kg, ip). After induction of seizure the learning and memory of rats was tested in shuttle box. Latency to enter the dark room memory was evaluated as indicators of learning and memory. The data were analyzed by one way variance analysis and Tukey&rsquo;s test using SPSS. Results: Pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures (PTZ) in acquisition group significantly reduced the latency to enter the dark room (P<0.01).&nbsp; Carbamazepine significantly reduce the entrance time in intact rats and kindled rats by PTZ (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion: This study showed that the administration of Carbamazepine in seizure rats can cause the increasing learning and memory impairments in rats by Pentylenetetrazole