as mentioned above , this invention is generally directed to compositions of a substantially optically pure enantiomeric form of sam - e salts . such new optically pure enantiomeric forms of sam - e salts , when administered to a warm blooded animal in need thereof , have utility in the prevention or treatment of conditions associated with low levels of sam - e in warm blooded animals , including humans . as used herein , the term “ conditions ” includes diseases , injuries , disorders , indications and / or afflictions that are associated with decreased levels of sam - e . the term “ treat ” or “ treatment ” means that the symptoms associated with one or more conditions associated with low levels of sam - e are alleviated or reduced in severity or frequency and the term “ prevent ” means that subsequent occurrences of such symptoms are avoided or that the frequency between such occurrences is prolonged . the substantially optically pure enantiomeric forms of sam - e salts of this invention may be used to prevent and / or treat a variety of conditions associated with lowered levels of sam - e . due to its ubiquitous distribution in mammalian tissue , sam - e is associated with a variety of conditions : aging , aging of the skin , alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , rheumatoid arthritis , osteoarthritis , both as an anti - inflammatory as well as to promote new cartilage formation , cancer , conditions of hypomethylation , mitochondrial diseases , hypomethylation of dna and rna , hiv / aids , anxiety , attention deficit disorder and adhd , sleep regulation , organ preservation for transplant industry , dyslipidemias , excess sebum production , migraines , bile dysfunction caused by pregnancy and use of contraceptive medications , depression , acute and chronic liver disease , cirrhosis of the liver , ischemic reperfusion injury , parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , memory disturbances , memory loss , pancreatitis , intrahepatic cholestasis , inflammation , pain , side effects of administration of chemotherapy , liver disease associated with administration of total parenteral nutrition , liver dysfunction , low tissue levels of glutathione , administration of neuroleptic drugs , administration of cyclosporin a , asthma , alcohol withdrawal ,. accordingly , substantially optically pure enantiomeric forms of sam - e salts of this invention are effective in preventing and / or treating the above conditions due to their ability to increase sam - e levels . to this end , substantially optically pure enantiomeric forms of sam - e salts of the present invention may be used for pharmaceutical , prophylactic and / or cosmetic purposes , and are administered to a warm - blooded animal in an effective amount to achieve a desired result . in the case of pharmaceutical administration , an effective amount is a quantity sufficient to treat the symptoms of a condition and / or the underlying condition itself an effective amount in the context of prophylactic administration means an amount sufficient to avoid or delay the onset of a condition and / or its symptoms . lastly , an effective amount with regard to cosmetic administration is an amount sufficient to achieve the desired cosmetic result . in a preferred embodiment , the substantially optically pure enantiomeric forms of sam - e salts of the present invention are administered to a warm - blooded animal as a pharmaceutical , prophylactic or cosmetic composition containing at least one substantially optically pure enantiomeric forms of sam - e salt in combination with at least one pharmaceutically , prophylactically or cosmetically acceptable carrier or diluent . administration may be accomplished by systemic or topical application , with the preferred mode dependent upon the type and location of the conditions to be treated . frequency of administration may vary , and is typically accomplished by daily administration . systemic administration may be achieved , for example , by injection ( e . g ., intramuscular , intravenous , subcutaneous or intradermal ) or oral delivery of the composition to the warm - blooded animal . suitable carriers and diluents for injection are known to those skilled in the art , and generally are in the form of an aqueous solution containing appropriate buffers and preservatives . oral delivery is generally accomplished by formulating the composition in a liquid or solid form , such as a tablet or capsule , by known formulation techniques . topical administration may be accomplished , for example , by formulating the composition as solution , cream , gel , ointment , powder , paste , gum or lozenge using techniques known to those skilled in the formulation field . as used herein , topical administration includes delivery of the composition to mucosal tissue of the mouth , nose and throat by , for example , spray or mist application , as well as to the vagina and rectum by , for example , suppository application . the following example illustrates the synthetic process by which the new enantiomeric sam - e salts may be made . in addition , the example shows how these new sam - e salts may be used clinically . this example is given to illustrate the present invention , but not by way of limitation . accordingly , the scope of this invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated , but rather by the appended claims and their legal equivalents . 1 . ( s , s )- s - adenosylmethionine was prepared according to the method of hoffman ( hoffman , chromatographic analysis of the chiral and covalent instability of s - adenosyl - l - methionine , biochemistry 1986 , 25 4444 - 4449 ). enantiomerically pure ( s , s )- sam - e was stabilized according to fiecchi ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 028 , 183 , jun . 7 , 1977 ) using p - toluene sulfonate as the stabilizing agent . ( s , s )- s - adenosylmethionine 400 mg was administered twice daily in an open , non - blind study of 10 volunteers who gave informed consent . all patients had normal results on pre - study medical examinations , including laboratory examinations . patients received 400 mg of ( s , s )- s - adenosylmethionine in an enteric - coated tablet form twice daily for 14 days or until remission of depression symptoms . the 10 patients satisfied the dsm - iii criteria for a major depressive episode . patients &# 39 ; symptoms were monitored daily using the hamilton rating scale for depression . 9 patients completed the study . ( one patient declined to continue the study after beginning .) eight of the nine patients who completed the trial improved over the 14 days . one patient had no change at all . no side effects were noted or reported by any of the patients nor as measured by laboratory or physical examination . ( s , s )- s - adenosylmethionine 400 mg twice daily appeared to be safe and effective in this small , non - blinded study of depression .
enantiomers of s - adenosyl - l - methionine , their stable salts and their uses are described . these compositions possess potent activity in treating various conditions involving hypomethylation and transulfuration reactions and are valuable for use as active constituents in pharmaceutical compositions .