Posted by Cam W. on March 4, 2002, at 23:12:58
In reply to Inositol for depression?, posted by Bekka H. on March 3, 2002, at 11:05:57
Bekka - I think that the rationale for using inositol for bipolar disorder comes from studies showing that lithium interrupts the intracellular phosphoinositol pathway, which in a roundabout way stabilizes the cell membrane by regulating calcium ion concentrations via calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum (intracellular calcium ions) and regulating the calcium ion channel in the neuron's cell wall (extracellular calcium ion flux into the neuron).
I believe that this mechanism is acing more on the mania, rather than the depression. Also, the body makes inositol, so I am not sure that taking megadoses of inositol would increase intracellular inositol levels by a significant amount, as the inositol is broken down in the stomach an in the bloodstream into it's component parts. You would get some increase in intracellular inositol, but I would not believe that it would be to any great extent.
This is just my opinion, and I have not seen any mechanism whereby the inositol is taken up into neurons intact. - Cam
poster:Cam W.
thread:96166
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020301/msgs/96429.html