Charged Magazine

Day: April 27, 2023

  • A SAM-e Self-Experiment

    A SAM-e Self-Experiment

    The SAM-e Supplement: say goodbye to depression? TBD.

    One year ago, as I was browsing the supplement aisle of Costco, a woman approached beside me. She started to fill her cart with boxes of SAM-e Complete. I was clearly contemplating whether or not to purchase some myself because she turned to me and told me that her daughter’s mood and mental health improved drastically after taking it. She couldn’t recommend it enough. Being easily swayed by others’ suggestions, I threw a couple in my cart. I took 400mg of SAM-e for 120 days — every morning before breakfast. It was with me through some of the darkest times of the semester, but looking back, I wouldn’t say it made much of difference (other than to my wallet). It might not have worked for me, but there’s a chance it could work for you.

    Understanding Depression

    Affecting more than 300 million people worldwide, depression is a common mood disorder that can strike at any age. Its symptoms can range from a lost of interest in activities and sleep problems to feelings of worthlessness and suicidal ideation (“Depression: Types of Depressive Disorders and Their Causes,” 2021). Depression impacts many aspects of an individual’s life and may require medication to treat. However, even with antidepressants, people continue to experience minimal responses to them. Or, they might suffer from one of its many side effects, driving them away from sticking to their medication. Situations like these have sparked the interest in natural remedies for treating depression. Research is still limited, but the over-the-counter supplement S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM-e) shows promise and an encouraging future.

    A Little History

    In Italy, Spain, and Germany, SAM-e has been available by prescription for decades. Only recently has the US started to sell it on its shelves. Still, only a handful of psychiatrists and clinicians have recommended it due to the uncertainty of its safety and effectiveness. Hopefully we’ll see more evidence come to light since many patients might be interested in an OTC option (D’Epiro, 2000).

    How It Works

    SAM-e is a methyl-donor molecule involved in metabolic pathways. It is found naturally in the body as a common amino acid in the blood. Amino acids are molecules that combine to make proteins, which are essential in supporting the growth and repair of tissue (Farnsworth, 2022). Unfortunately, the form of SAM-e found in food isn’t stable and our bodies can only generate a small amount.

    SAM-e helps to produce and regulate hormones as well as maintain cell membranes (“SAMe,” 2020). Since it plays such an important in regulating key functions in the the body’s cells, abnormal levels can lead to depression and liver disease (“S-adenosyl-L-methionine (same): In depth,” 2017).

    SAM-e levels in the body are dependent on Folate and B12. Depression is linked to deficiencies of these vitamins, which suggests that they could be linked to reduced SAM-e. 

    Simply put, a deficiency in folate → not able to metabolize folate properly → lower levels of SAM-e → less synthesis of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. 

    With the help of SAM-e, depression symptoms can be reduced by stimulating the synthesis of these key neurotransmitters (Mischoulon, 2018).

    The Evidence

    SAM-e trials to test efficacy have ranged from 2 to 12 weeks and doses of 200mg to 3200mg. In a number of controlled experiments, SAM-e has been found to be more effective than placebo and just about equal to antidepressants when administered into veins or muscles. (Less evidence is available to support the use of oral SAM-e.) Data also suggests that SAM-e can be useful when taken in addition to antidepressants (Papakostas, 2009).

    Current findings highlight the need for larger and longer studies to truly understand the value of SAM-e.

    Why Could SAM-e Be Better For Me?

    SSRIs, a widely used antidepressant, blocks the reabsorption of serotonin, leaving more available for the neurons to use for signaling. SAM-e aids with the actual synthesis of serotonin (Majeed, 2022).

    One of the major benefits of SAM-e is its minimal list of side effects. These include digestive problems, mild insomnia, irritability, and anxiety, which tend to resolve after a couple of weeks. Typical antidepressants can cause weight gain, sexual dysfunction, sedation, or cognitive interference (“SAM-e”, n.d.).

    Antidepressants typically take 6 to 8 weeks before they begin working, while SAM-e seems to begin in as little as 2 weeks time (“S-adenosylmethionine,” n.d.). Tablets can also be combined safely with other drugs since it doesn’t have many interactions.

    How Is SAM-e Not More Popular?

    SAM-e has been shown to have a positive effect on depression treatment, but many of those studies were poorly designed or had a small sample size. Data on long-term safety has been limited as well. The perfect dose hasn’t been established either. 

    Should You Take SAM-e?

    Patients who would benefit most from SAM-e are those with mild to moderate depression who would prefer not to see a doctor, are taking a treatment that isn’t working, or wish to avoid the adverse side effects of common antidepressants. The cost, unfortunately, may turn some away from trying out the supplement — one 400mg pill can cost between $.75 and $1.25. Although SAM-e is available as a safe and effective supplement, it is not recommended to treat major depression without advice from a doctor and it should not be considered a replacement for prescribed medication (D’Epiro, 2000).

    Even though SAM-e supplements didn’t have a noticeable effect on me, it changed the daughter of the woman at the grocery store’s life. If you are considering an OTC supplement to relieve mild depression symptoms, it could be worth a try!

     

    Resources

  • Diary of a Mad Grad Student #1

    Diary of a Mad Grad Student #1

    In my stress over grad school and figuring out what my life will look like, I’ve been asking myself questions about my goals and my thoughts about existing as an underrepresented minority in academia. Hopefully, putting my thoughts out there will help other students in a similar place feel less alone and reflect on their role as a scientist. You could call this the first public entry of my diary or a grad student’s soliloquy (without the dramatics of a theater show).

    What made me think about writing this in the first place was realizing that I’ve been losing a lot of motivation to finish this first semester of grad school. Even though I put in a ton of work to get to this point and still have big career goals to fill, I keep being reminded of the people who told me that I would fail. The professors that told me, “I’d get kicked out in the first semester,” or “I’m not adequate enough to be a graduate student,” are still stuck in my brain every day that I go to lab and class, and I can’t seem to shake those doubts away in my highs and lows of the semester.

    To get that motivation back, I started to think about how I’ve been doing everything I can to survive and push to the next day, but I haven’t been doing the work to make myself thrive. It brought me back to the question of why I love science. What pushes me not just to do what I need to finish my Master’s but to enjoy every day of it? Looking back to how others in positions of power treated me during my undergrad journey, throughout the grad school application process, and even now, I mainly had been forcing myself to finish everything I could out of spite to prove the doubters wrong. I would not only show them that I did it and finished it even when I thought I couldn’t but also tell the little voice in my head that I didn’t have to worry about anything. I am intelligent, capable, and a real scientist, even when they made me feel like I wasn’t. But now that I’ve become a grad student and I don’t have to see these people anytime soon (hopefully, it’s a small campus, after all), I’ve started making solid strides toward prioritizing my mental health and fighting the imposter syndrome and negative thoughts that come in my head. 

    My most significant step was to begin counseling, which felt like I was going into an unknown world. It was something I wanted to start during my undergrad, but I didn’t have the time or resources for it, so now, as a grad student with a consistent income, I decided it was time to take that leap! With my counselor, I’ve had more profound reflections and conversations about some of the roots of my imposter syndrome. Not only have I gained a better perspective on how I view the world around me, but I’ve also been able to treat myself better than I have in the last few years. 

    There are so many things that my counselor and I have talked about that I could use to show the depth of what I learned, but I think these questions I was asked can give a glimpse of how I’ve been able to grow and move forward. If you’re reading this and have been trying to push yourself to complete your thesis, degree or even get up in the morning, I urge you to reflect on some of these questions. If you have the resources, I would suggest expanding on these questions and ones you’ve been asking yourself in some mental health counseling.

    • How can I better support myself as I finish my M.S. and begin to hit roadblocks in my research? 
    • What is the bigger picture of my work? Does it excite me to go to the lab and work towards completing my thesis?
    • How can I take ownership of my thesis and create a story that will bring new knowledge and understanding to the communities my work will reach? Another question I ended up asking myself while reflecting on this is how can I take myself out of my comfort zone in my project, and have I ever taken myself out of this comfort zone? 

    These questions and my responses to them will likely change throughout my program (as my career goals and my thesis grows). Still, they have reminded me why I became a grad student in the first place and what drives me to become a better researcher and science communicator. I’ve been able to recenter myself, and I’m proud to say that I’m proud of the work I’ve put in so far, and I’m excited for what the next year will hold for me.

     

    Sincerely,

    A Mad (but Motivated) Grad Student

  • Written on the Walls

    Written on the Walls

    Since my first year at Georgia Tech, I’ve loved the campus’s architecture. There’s a perfect blend of old highlights that are the landmarks you think of when you think of GT, like Tech Tower and the Einstein statue, to newer buildings that represent the modern and futuristic side of campus, like the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design and the renovated Price Gilbert Library and Crossland Tower.

    Inside the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design.

    When I lived in 8th Street Apartments last year, I noticed some exciting designs on each building’s entrance. Outside of 8th Street East, where I lived, there is a model of our solar system with the word “EXPLORATION” under it. I felt that the image was a beautiful tribute to the discovery of how the concept of our solar system developed since 1543. When I was walking near my old apartment a few weeks ago, I rediscovered that etching, and I wanted to take a deep dive into how many similar etchings were on campus. So with my friend, fellow Charged Magazine writer, and uber-talented photographer Steven Yang, we took a fun walk around West Campus, documenting everything we could find.

    The Charged Dream Team, Steven Yang (back) and Jalen Borne (front) ready to explore GT’s campus.

    During our journey, we found six different etchings at the entrances and the backs of student apartments on West Campus. Included were the solar system model mentioned earlier, the Georgia Tech seal, Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man (with the word “HUMANITY”), the Earth representing “CIVILIZATION,” the Milky Way for “DISCOVERY,” and a beautiful but simple model of the atom, with “EXISTENCE.” At the Nelson-Shell apartment, there weren’t drawings, but the words “KNOWLEDGE” and “TECHNOLOGY” were marked. Finally, we found a plaque showing when Nelson-Shell was constructed for the 1996 Olympic Games.

    What I loved about this adventure was discovering all of the etchings and gaining a deeper appreciation for what the pieces all together mean to me as a growing scientist. The etchings represent all the discoveries that have become the foundations of almost every STEM field and what they mean to society. Including knowledge and technology in the apartments perfectly complements the other buildings by considering the Georgia Tech motto: Progress and Service. We take the knowledge of the past, build new technology that improves the world, and further the values shown in the other campus etchings. 

    Campus etchings that Steven and I found throughout West Campus.
    Top row (left to right): Eighth Street East (back), Eighth Street South (front), Eighth Street South (back)
    Middle row: Nelson, Eighth Street West (back), Shell (back)
    Bottom row: Eighth Street East (back), Shell (front), Eighth Street West (front)

    If you ever walk around campus and see a weird or cool sculpture or marking on the building, don’t just think about why it was added there, but what it means to you as a student. The etchings have become my favorite place to reflect on just how much campus has changed to become a place where its students work to bring the next generation of computer science, medical devices, and energy technology, all pushed by the motto of Progress and Service.