5 HTP for Mood Elevation and Depression and Panic Attacks

According to medical journals and reviews it ihas been proven that 5 HTP helps improve moods of depressed patients and helps panic attacks. The same sources generally recommended that more research on 5 HTP should be done before claims were made. and may aid in weight loss, improve sleep patterns and help panic attacks. In the medical articles which were read, it was indicated that more research should be conducted on 5-HTP before any claims were made regarding the effects on sleep patterns or weight loss. Within these articles there was little to no mention of the effects of 5-HTP

5 HTP and Depression

The majority of the research on 5-HTP has focused on its possible use as a treatment for depression. In 2000, the clinical research was thoroughly reviewed by Meyers [1]. Many studies were conducted by a group of European researchers in the 1970's and early 1980's. In one study 60% of depressed patients given 5-HTP (200-3000 mg/day) improved while there were no improvements in the placebo group. Another double-blind study with 200 mg/day of 5-HTP indicated that it was more effective than placebo and almost as effective as the tricyclic antidepressant clomipramine. In 1977, a double-blind study was done with 5-HTP along with a drug to inhibit peripheral conversion to serotonin, and it found this combination to be equally as effective as the antidepressant imipramine. In both of these studies, 5-HTP was associated with fewer side effects than the other treatment [2]. Seven open studies were also conducted with positive results, however open studies are not good indicators of antidepressant effectiveness. In the 1970's, several other studies were also conducted in Japan in patients with various types of depression, all with positive results, but once again these were open studies.

In more recent research, a 1991 double-blind study in Switzerland compared 300 mg 5-HTP to fluvoxamine (Luvox) and found them to be equally effective in treating depression (although the results were in favor of 5-HTP, the difference was not statistically significant [2]). Most of these studies were in patients with major depression, although a double-blind study comparing L-tryptophan with a tricyclic antidepressant indicated that it was effective for mild and moderate depression, and it can be assumed that this benefit would cross over to 5-HTP. However, results from studies comparing 5-HTP with another antidepressant without a placebo group should be treated with caution. Two small studies conducted in the early 1980s indicated additive antidepressant effects with a combination of 5-HTP and tyrosine, a combination that warrants further exploration. At present, the bulk of the evidence indicates a benefit from 5-HTP supplementation in the treatment of depression, although a 2002 meta-analysis emphasizes the need for more studies with better methodology [3].

While it superficially makes sense that by increasing serotonin levels with 5-HTP would relieve depression, the antidepressant mechanism behind 5-HTP (and the SSRI’s) is slightly more complicated and constantly evolving with increasing research. An overactive HPA axis leading to increased cortisol levels has always been a hallmark of clinical depression, a phenomenon which can be reversed with successful antidepressant treatment [4]. Current research suggests that antidepressants, such as 5-HTP, might directly influence the normalization of HPA function and change the action of cortisol in the brain [5]. Acutely, 5-HTP induces the release of CRF and subsequently cortisol [6]. This would appear to exacerbate depressive symptoms, but the serotonin system is subject to tightly regulated negative feedback, especially when stimulated by 5-HTP [7]. Treatment with 5-HTP will lead to decreases in corticosteroid receptors in the rat brain [8].

The adrenal stimulation produced by 5-HTP might also be directly helpful to depression, as it raises Beta-Endorphin levels [9].

5-HTP - offers information about how to overcome depression naturally.

 

1. Altern Med Rev. 2000 Feb;5(1):64-71. Use of neurotransmitter precursors for treatment of depression. Meyers S.
2. Altern Med Rev. 1998 Aug;3(4):271-80. 5-Hydroxytryptophan: a clinically-effective serotonin precursor. Birdsall TC.
3. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2002 Aug;36(4):488-91. Are tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptophan effective treatments for depression? A meta-analysis. Shaw K, Turner J, Del Mar C.
4. Endocr Rev. 1996 Apr;17(2):187-205. Antidepressants and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical regulation. Holsboer F, Barden N.
5. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004 May;29(4):423-47. Do antidepressants regulate how cortisol affects the brain? Pariante CM, Thomas SA, Lovestone S, Makoff A, Kerwin RW.
6. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2002 Apr;22(2):183-9. Placebo-controlled comparison of three dose-regimens of 5-hydroxytryptophan challenge test in healthy volunteers. Gijsman HJ, van Gerven JM, de Kam ML, Schoemaker RC, Pieters MS, Weemaes M, de Rijk R, van der Post J, Cohen AF.
7. J Neurosci. 2000 Feb 15;20(4):1622-34. Paradoxical actions of the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan on the activity of identified serotonergic neurons in a simple motor circuit. Fickbohm DJ, Katz PS.
8. Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 2000 August;12(8):736. Regulation of Central Corticosteroid Receptors following Short-Term Activation of Serotonin Transmission by 5-Hydroxy-L-Tryptophan or Fluoxetine. Semont A, Fache MP, Hery F, Faudon M, Youssouf F, Hery M.
9. Neuropsychopharmacology. 1996 Oct;15(4):340-8. Stimulatory effects of L-5-hydroxytryptophan on postdexamethasone beta-endorphin levels in major depression. Maes M, Van Gastel A, Ranjan R, Blockx P, Cosyns P, Meltzer HY, Desnyder R.