I'm pretty new to Wikipedia, but "being bold." I added the pharmocology stub tag to this article, in the hope that Wikipedians with relevant expertise will expand it. SAM-e is taken for depression and joint pains. It is prescribed in Europe, but can be purchased in the US over the counter in supplement stores. It is generally quite expensive. Because it has become a trendy anti-depressant (usually self-prescribed in the US), I feel that it is important to give people more information about this supplement. It has medical advocates, most notably Dr. Richard Brown (author of "Stop Depression Now"), but I have come across many articles advising caution, as long-term effects are not established. Of most concern is that the supplement breaks down to homocysteine, high levels of which are apparently sometimes indicative of (or causative??) of heart disease.
As with so many supplements, a Google search is flooded with very positive explanations of this supplement by companies selling it. The few negative articles are by medical experts who often seem to reject it reflexively, because its effectiveness has not yet been adequately researched. There is a real need for an objective, in-depth summary of how this supplement works, and what is known about its effectiveness and side effects.
I am not a medical or pharmacological expert, even remotely, so I labeled this a stub in hopes that someone who has expertise in a relevant field can expand it. (StrangeAttractor 15:47, 10 December 2005 (UTC))