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Inositol 6 g daily may be effective in depression but not in schizophrenia
Author(s) -
Levine Joseph,
Gonsalves Mirtha,
Babur Izak,
Stier Shaul,
Elizur Avner,
Kofman Ora,
Belmaker R. H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.470080109
Subject(s) - inositol , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , depression (economics) , lithium (medication) , second messenger system , crossover study , medicine , endocrinology , inositol phosphate , pharmacology , psychiatry , psychology , receptor , placebo , pathology , alternative medicine , economics , macroeconomics
Inositol is an important precursor for second messenger synthesis and has been reported to be reduced by lithium treatment in rat brain and in human CSF in depression. An open trial of 6 g/day in 11 depressed patients resistant to previous treatment led to major improvement in nine patients. The enzyme synthesizing inositol has been reported to be elevated in schizophrenia, suggesting an attempted compensation for possible inositol deficiency. A controlled double‐blind crossover trial in 10 chronic schizophrenic patients of 6 g/day of inositol for 30 days did not reveal any benefit.