Jahnavi Sarma
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Sarcosine is a naturally occurring nutrient in foods like egg yolks, turkey, ham, legumes, nuts and a few vegetables. ©Shutterstock
According to a new study at University College London, a dietary supplement, sarcosine, an amino acid derivative, may help in the treatment of schizophrenia. Published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, this study says that this product can be easily incorporated into treatment plans.
Schizophrenia patients may exhibit certain defects in the glutamate receptors. This is a common neurotransmitter in the brain. Sarcosine stimulates the glutamate receptors to function better. Any abnormalities in these receptors may cause psychosis and other symptoms of schizophrenia. According to researchers, genetic variants which damage this receptor may also increase the risk of schizophrenia.
But, at the same time, they also caution that some people taking sarcosine to treat schizophrenia may experience hypomania if they are already taking any antidepressants. Hypomania symptoms are disinhibition and euphoria.
Sarcosine is a naturally occurring nutrient in foods like egg yolks, turkey, ham, legumes, nuts and a few vegetables. It is also available as a dietary supplement and is sometimes also promoted as a 'brain health supplement'. Sarcosine supplements are available in both capsule and liquid form. It may sometimes also be administered intravenously by a medical professional.
Depression happens when the NMDAR neurotransmitter of the brain malfunctions. Sarcosine is known to stimulate this neurotransmitter and also acts as an anti-depressant. In a study, researchers from China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan, and the University of California, Los Angeles, studied the effects of sarcosine in patients of depression. They saw that patients reported significantly improved mood scores and none of them reported any side-effects. Elsevier published this study.
Sarcosine is also known to improve mood, reduce anxiety levels and help in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Moreover, it can control oppositional-defiant disorder in children. Children with this condition are often unnaturally defiant and impulsive. It is also known to improve cognition.
Sarcosine may help in the treatment of neuropathic pain. This pain often results from some malfunction in the nervous system. Uncontrolled diabetes and stroke may also lead to this condition. People who take this as a supplement report a decrease in their pain level. Its use may also prevent cell death and reduce intolerance to blood shortage in the brain. This may be helpful in the treatment of stroke patients. This dietary supplement is also used by medical professional to treat patients who display symptoms of toluene exposure. It can reverse the
symptoms of this exposure that are usually a dangerously low body temperature, loss of memory and a lack of coordination. One important thing to note here is that sarcosine has now emerged as a possible biomarker for prostate cancer. It can now be used for early detection of this kind of cancer. Men with this condition exhibit very high levels of sarcosine in their prostate tissue and urine.
Though this is a generally harmless dietary supplement with hardly any side-effects, some people report feelings of euphoria and hyperactivity. Sarcosine may increase the risk of prostate cancer in men. It can also episodes of sleeplessness in some people and irritability and headaches in others. But these are temporary symptoms and it goes away once you stop taking the supplement.