Antioxidant Vitamins and Their Use in Psychiatry

Oxidative stress can be defined as imbalance between prooxidant molecules produced during body metabolism and members of antioxidant system for favor of former. Oxidative stress, which is included in the pathogenesis of cancer, aging, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders, is also considered for pathogenetic mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, mood disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Due to important role of antioxidant vitamins in antioxidant defense mechanisms, vitamin supplementation therapies are considered in addition to conventional treatment choices for psychiatric disorders. This paper will attempt to review the biochemical, molecular and genetic data on biological processes related to vitamins A, C and E. Besides, the circumstances under which the antioxidant vitamin supplementation could be used in psychiatry and the factors that should be taken into consideration during these therapies will be discussed.