Posted by Larry Hoover on October 16, 2007, at 17:26:48
In reply to PROSTAGLANDINS in bipolar, posted by Jimmyboy on October 16, 2007, at 11:19:59
> I read some articles that said people who are manic have abnormally high levels of Prostaglandin E-1 and depressed people have low levels of this substance.
I wasn't aware of this. Thanks for the tip.
> I know this is made from GLA and that it also is released when people consume alcohol, in diminishing amounts.
>
> I have noticed a trend that when I break from a depression to feeling better or hypomanic, it is usually after a long time of not drinking and then starting back up drinking heavily.
>
> Can anyone explain anything about PGE -1 to me ?b/c I really know nothing about it
>
> Thanks
>
> JBPGE1 is, as you say, derived from gamma-linolenic acid, but via its elongation product, called dihomogammma-linolenic acid. When certain excitatory stimuli are present, 20-carbon fatty acids are cleaved from cell membrane phospholipids, and acted on by the enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase, which is also known as prostaglandin synthase, yielding a signalling molecule called a prostaglandin. The prostaglandin thus produced depends upon which 20-carbon fatty acid was cleaved from the membrane phospholipid: EPA yields series three prostaglandins, AA yields series two, and DGLA yields series one, i.e. PGE1 (prostaglandin eicosanoid series 1).
The series one and three prostaglandins are anti-inflammatory, whereas that derived from arichidonic acid (PGE2) is inflammatory. Our modern diets are vastly oversupplied with arichidonic acid, relative to the proportions under which we evolved. It may be a primary cause of many inflammatory processes in the body, which fall under the diseases of modern living.
There are some relatively common sources of dietary GLA: borage oil, evening primrose oil, and black currant oil. GLA is rather quickly elongated to DGLA, with relatively little of it being subsequently desaturated to AA. So, it is relatively easy to bring up your available pool of DGLA, just by supplementing with GLA. The presence of dietary omega-3 fatty acids may somewhat enhance the yield of DGLA, by competing with DGLA for the desaturase that would produce AA from DGLA.
Here's a pretty thorough article about GLA supplementation:
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/128/9/1411Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:789579
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071009/msgs/789621.html