Innovative supplement prevents postpartum blues

summary: A new study has introduced a natural supplement that can significantly reduce symptoms of postpartum blues and depression. A four-year study demonstrated that taking this supplement immediately after giving birth prevented the onset of postpartum blues in 66% of participants and protected against clinical postpartum depression six months later.

This finding is extremely important given the prevalence of postpartum blues among new mothers and the potential for developing postpartum depression, which has serious implications for both mother and child. The development of this supplement is based on combating the increase in MAO-A protein after childbirth, opening up a promising avenue for postnatal care and will be marketed as Blues Away.

Important facts:

1. The supplement developed by CAMH has been proven to effectively prevent postpartum blues and reduce symptoms of depression, reaching the clinical threshold for postpartum depression at six months of age among the group that took the supplement. No one reached it.
2. This dietary supplement targets a critical period after birth to counteract the dramatic increase in MAO-A protein in the brain, which is associated with mood regulation.
3. Scheduled to launch in the U.S. in April 2024 in partnership with Exeltis, the supplement represents a major advance in postpartum mental health care, with global distribution plans pending regulatory approval.

sauce: Cham

New research published in discovery science journal The Lancet e-clinical medicine A new natural supplement invented, researched, developed and commercialized by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has been shown to prevent postpartum blues and reduce symptoms of postpartum depression for six months postpartum.

Eight out of 10 new mothers experience postpartum blues, or “baby” blues, characterized by mood swings, crying, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. This condition usually begins within the first few days after giving birth and can last up to two weeks. Postpartum blues significantly increase the risk of postpartum depression, a serious mental illness that affects 13% of mothers.

Postpartum depression has important medical implications, including decreased quality of life, increased risk of future depressive episodes and suicide, and is associated with cognitive and emotional consequences in children. Until now, there have been no options for widespread prevention of either condition.

This research Dietary supplements for early postnatal mood symptoms: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial; The study involved more than 100 postpartum participants between January 2019 and December 2022 who took four doses of the natural supplement or a matched placebo a few days after giving birth. .

Of the group that took the supplement, two-thirds (66%) experienced no or only negligible symptoms of postpartum blues. Additionally, over the next six months, participants who received the supplement had fewer symptoms of depression, and none reached the clinical threshold for postpartum depression six months after giving birth.

“There are 140 million births around the world each year. Most women experience postpartum blues and, in severe cases, are at least four times more likely to develop full-blown postpartum depression.”

“Our study showed that both the postpartum blues and subsequent symptoms of depression were reduced in women who took the nutritional supplement,” said the nutritional supplement's inventor and study author. said lead author Dr. Jeffrey Meyer.

“Providing this extra dietary support in the first few days after giving birth is an important window to avoid symptoms of depression and significantly reduces the likelihood that depression will recur and have lifelong consequences.” This is extremely important given the risks involved.”

Dr. Meyer has been researching postpartum blues for over 15 years. His previous imaging studies showed that a protein called MAO-A increases dramatically in the brains of postpartum women, and that this protein scavenges important brain chemicals that support normal mood, such as serotonin and dopamine. It turns out that it does. It also acts as an oxidizing agent and has been linked to the onset and progression of certain psychiatric disorders.

To counter this effect, this dietary supplement contains ingredients such as blueberry extract, which contains antioxidants, and amino acids that replenish essential neurochemicals in the brain that support healthy mood and concentration under stress. Composed of a proprietary, patented combination of natural ingredients.

The supplement was well-tolerated, and women who took it tended to experience symptom relief, including less drowsiness, headaches, and restlessness. Researchers have previously shown that amino acids included in supplements do not affect total concentrations in breast milk, which was expected since these amino acids are already found in proteins in breast milk. That's true.

Through a licensing agreement, CAMH partnered with international women's health supplement and pharmaceutical company Exeltis to bring the product to market under the brand name. Blues Away®.

Exeltis has maintained a natural health products approach in preparation and manufacturing to make its supplements widely distributed. This product is scheduled to be available in the United States starting April 11, 2024.

It is also being introduced into other global markets, including Canada, and the pace of approval will depend on each country's regulatory requirements and reviews.

“We are excited to announce the culmination of years of dedication and collaboration in the form of a breakthrough nutritional supplement to prevent postpartum blues.

“It’s great to be able to simultaneously share clinical research on this product and partner with leaders in the global women’s health industry to bring this product to new mothers who need it.” Industry Partnership said Clara Vichnevetsky, Director of Technology. transfer. Since its inception, CAMH has nurtured this innovation and taken it from the bench to the bedside, enabling it to make an immediate and profound difference in the lives of millions of women and their families. ”

A limitation of the study is that the supplements did not show the expected protective effect in an test in which sad stimuli caused low mood among several measures of depression tested in the study, but -19 pandemic and moving the study setting to participants' homes during the pandemic may have influenced the results of this particular test, although stress may have played a role.

Aristotle Voyneskos, vice president for research, added: “Two major pillars of our CAMH approach to research are the importance of integrating scientific findings into advances in mental health care and the value of early intervention.

“Through the perseverance and dedication of our researchers and technology transfer team, this new preventive therapy could contribute to best practices in postnatal care and help women around the world avoid more severe and chronic mental illnesses. there is.”

Funding: This study was funded by CAMH, with additional funding from Exeltis.

About this postpartum depression research news

author: Haley Chazan
sauce: Cham
contact: Haley Chazan – CAMH
image: Image credited to Neuroscience News

Original research: Open access.
“Dietary supplements for early postpartum mood symptoms: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trialWritten by Jeffrey Mayer et al. EC clinical medicine

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abstract

Dietary supplements for early postpartum mood symptoms: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

background

Postpartum blues (PPB) is a frequent syndrome of sad mood, continuous crying, anxiety, restlessness, decreased appetite, and irritability, usually reaching its peak on the fifth day postpartum. In severe cases, the risk of subsequent postpartum depression is significantly increased. This study compared dietary supplements to a placebo in terms of PPB severity. This supplement was designed to counteract the downstream effects of elevated monoamine oxidase A levels, which are implicated in the cause of PPB.

method

Participants, recruited by advertisement from the Toronto area, completed the procedure at CAMH and/or at the participant's home in Canada. Oral supplements or an identical, relatively inert placebo were administered in a randomized, double-blind manner. The supplements were blueberry juice and extract, which were given four times between the night of the third day postpartum and the morning of the fifth day. Tryptophan 2g on the night of the 4th day postpartum and tyrosine 10g in the morning of the 5th day postpartum. On day 5, depressed mood induction treatment (MIP) and postpartum blues were assessed. All data are presented (NCT03296956 private, clinicaltrials.gov).

Investigation result

From January 2019 to December 2022, participants took supplements (n = 51) or placebo (n = 52). There was no significant effect on the primary outcome MIP on the visual analogue scale of depressed mood (mean difference = -0.39 mm, 95% CI: -6.42 to 5.65 mm). The Stein Maternity Blues score, an exploratory PPB measure, was lower in the active group (effect size 0.62, median interquartile range (IQR): active 2.00 (IQR 1, 4), placebo 4.00 (IQR 1.5, 6), general linear regression model, supplement effect, β coefficient = −1.50 (95%: CI −2.60, −0.40), p = 0.008; effect of pre-supplement CES-D crying category, p = 0.03– 0.00000023). 26 and 40 different adverse events occurred within 25% and 42% of cases for the supplement and placebo, respectively (chi-square, p = 0.06).

interpretation

Although the primary results were negative for effects on depressive mood induction, the supplement moderately reduced PPB.

funding

CAMH/Exceltis.