Effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid supplementation on home-based walking training achievement in middle-aged depressive women: randomized, double-blind, crossover pilot study

Abstract

Depressive patients often experience difficulty in performing exercise due to physical and psychological barriers. We examined the effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) with sodium ferrous citrate (SFC) supplementation during home-based walking training in middle-aged depressive women. Nine outpatients [53 ± 8 (SD) yr] with major depressive disorder participated in the pilot study with randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover design. They underwent two trials for 7 days, each performing interval walking training (IWT) with ALA + SFC (ALA + SFC) or placebo supplement intake (PLC) intermittently with >a 10-day washout period. For the first 6 days of each trial, exercise intensity for IWT was measured by accelerometry. Before and after each trial, subjects underwent a graded cycling test, and lactate concentration in plasma ([Lac−]p), oxygen consumption rate (), and carbon dioxide production rate () were measured with depression severity by the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). We found that the increases in [Lac−]p, and during the test were attenuated only in ALA + SFC ([before vs. after] × workload; all, P < 0.01), accompanied by increased training days, impulse, and time at fast walking during IWT (all, P < 0.05) with decreased MADRS-score (P = 0.001). Thus, ALA + SFC supplementation increased IWT achievement to improve depressive symptoms in middle-aged women.

Creation of a gene expression portrait of depression and its application for identifying potential treatments

“…Some of the top ranked non-traditional treatments for depression were of interest because prior work had suggested them as possible antidepressants. For example, D-serine (second highest for females) 52 , curcumin 53 , creatine 54 , elevated temperature 55 , albiflorin 56,57 , alpha and gamma tocopherol with vitamin E 58 , nicotinamide riboside 59 , aminolevulinic acid 60 , celastrol 61 , and zinc 62 each have been evaluated in some context as a possible treatment for depression. The datasets for D-serine included an unusually high ratio of upregulated relative to downregulated genes overall 63 , though, so additional caution may be needed when interpreting that result.…”

5‐Aminolevulinic acid/sodium ferrous citrate enhanced the antitumor effects of programmed cell death‐ligand 1 blockade by regulation of exhausted T cell metabolism in a melanoma model

“…5‐Aminolevulinic acid supplementation in mice enhances Complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase, COX) activity and ATP production levels, and combined treatment with 5‐ALA and SFC was reported to upregulate the expression of electron transfer chain complexes III, IV, and V in the white adipose tissue of obese mice 10 . These study results suggest the possibility of a definitive therapy against mitochondrial disease by an “enzyme reinforcing treatment” that reinforces the activity of remaining mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes to improve the mitochondrial function 11,12 …”

Reduction of fatigue and anger-hostility by the oral administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid phosphate: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study

“…Previous study has suggested that 6 weeks 5-ALA administration improved sleep quality in subjects with insomnia or difficulty sleeping, reducing the Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-20 Question (PIRS-20) 22 . In addition, 5-ALA improved exercise efficiency and home-based walking training achievement in older women 23 , and also improved depressive symptoms www.nature.com/scientificreports/ measured by the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) in middle-aged depressive women 24 . These evidences are consistent with our results that 5-ALA improves physical tiredness and negative mood.…”