The dietary supplement creatine can enhance the efficacy of treatments for depression, research by a Korean team of scientists suggests.

Creatine is an organic acid that occurs naturally in the body, but is taken as a dietary supplement by athletes as the compound facilitates energy delivery to muscle and brain cells.

According to the research conducted by professor Lyoo In-kyoon of Seoul National University’s College of Medicine in collaboration with the Catholic University of Korea researchers, the time needed to treat depression patients with the antidepressant escitalopram was shortened by as much as two weeks when the medication was given with 5 grams of creatine.

In the study, the team took 52 women showing signs of depression and divided them into two groups. One group was give escitalopram with creatine while the other group was given only the antidepressant.

The results showed that those given creatine supplements responded to the antidepressant about two weeks faster than the control group. In addition, signs of depression lessened in 52 percent of those given creatine while the symptoms had eased in just 25.9 percent of those treated only with escitalopram.

“The research is significant in that it found a way to overcome an important limitation of antidepressants,” Lyoo said. He added that as creatine is a naturally occurring compound, its use in treating depression could bring significant economic effects.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)