Inositol is a simple
polyol precursor in a second messenger system important in the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid
inositol has been reported as decreased in depression. A double-blind controlled trial of 12 g daily of
inositol in 28 depressed patients for four weeks was performed. Significant overall benefit for
inositol compared to placebo was found at week 4 on the Hamilton Depression Scale. No changes were noted in hematology, kidney or liver function. Since many
antidepressants are effective in
panic disorder, twenty-one patients with
panic disorder with or without
agoraphobia completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, four week, random-assignment crossover treatment trial of
inositol 12 g per day. Frequency and severity of
panic attacks and severity of
agoraphobia declined significantly with
inositol compared to placebo. Side-effects were minimal. Since
serotonin re-uptake inhibitors benefit
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and
inositol is reported to reverse desensitization of
serotonin receptors, thirteen patients with OCD completed a double-blind controlled crossover trial of 18 g
inositol or placebo for six weeks each.
Inositol significantly reduced scores of OCD symptoms compared with placebo. A controlled double-blind crossover trial of 12 g daily of
inositol for a month in twelve anergic schizophrenic patients, did not show any beneficial effects. A double-blind controlled crossover trial of 6 g of
inositol daily vs.
glucose for one month each was carried out in eleven Alzheimer patients, with on clearly significant
therapeutic effects.
Antidepressant drugs have been reported to improve
attention deficit disorder (
ADDH) with hyperactivity symptomatology. We studied oral
inositol in children with
ADDH in a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled manner. Eleven children, mean age 8.9 +/- 3.6 years were enrolled in an eight week trial of
inositol or placebo at a dose of 200 mg/kg
body weight. Results show a trend for aggravation of the syndrome with myo-
inositol as compared to placebo. Recent studies suggest that
serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are helpful in at least some symptoms of
autism. However a controlled double-blind crossover trial of
inositol 200 mg/kg per day showed no benefit in nine children with
autism.
Cholinergic agonists have been reported to ameliorate electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-induced memory impairment.
Inositol metabolism is involved in the second messenger system for several
muscarinic cholinergic receptors.
Inositol 6 g daily was given in a crossover-double-blind manner for five days before the fifth or sixth ECT to a series of twelve patients, without effect. These results suggest that
inositol has
therapeutic effects in the spectrum of illness responsive to
serotonin selective re-uptake inhibitors, including depression, panic and OCD, and is not beneficial in
schizophrenia, Alzheimer's
ADDH,
autism or ECT-induced
cognitive impairment.