S-Adenosyl Methionine - Therapeutic Uses

Therapeutic Uses

In the United States and Canada, SAM is sold as a nutritional supplement under the marketing name SAM-e (also spelled SAME or SAMe; pronounced "sam ee" or "Sammy"). SAM is also marketed under the Gumbaral, Samyr, Adomet, Heptral and Admethionine brand names as a prescription drug approved in Russia, Italy, and Germany. Some research, including multiple clinical trials, has indicated taking SAM on a regular basis may help fight depression, liver disease, and the pain of osteoarthritis. All other indications are not yet proven.

Therapeutic use of SAM has increased in the US, as dietary supplements have gained in popularity, especially after the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was passed in 1994. This law allowed the distribution of SAM as a dietary supplement, and therefore allowed it to bypass the regulatory requirements for drugs of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

At first, a line of evidence suggested abnormally low levels of endogenous SAM may play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that SAM may therefore have therapeutic potential in the treatment of AD. However, further research has indicated this effect is likely due to vitamin B₁₂ deficiencies, which result in neurologic defects due to the inability to conduct one carbon transfers (with folate) in the absence of B₁₂. Severely low levels of SAM have been found in the cerebrospinal fluid and in all brain regions of AD patients examined.

SAMe has been studied in the treatment of osteoarthritis. SAMe reduces the pain associated with osteoarthritis. Although an optimal dose has yet to be determined, SAMe appears as effective as the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Additional study is warranted to confirm these findings.