Nutrient Supplements May Offer Benefit in Early Schizophrenia
Certain types of nutrient supplementation used in conjunction with standard treatment may benefit patients in the early stages of schizophrenia, suggests a systematic review published online in Early Intervention in Psychiatry.
"Nutrient supplementation in the treatment of mental illness is something which can be surrounded by both cynicism and hype,” said lead researcher Joseph Firth, PhD, of the University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown, Australia. “We conducted this review just to see if there is any real evidence if such nutrients can actually help young people with psychosis.”
The review focused on data from 8 independent clinical trials involving 457 patients with first-episode psychosis. The findings suggest some symptom benefit with certain nutrients, although researchers emphasized future studies are needed to replicate results.
Taurine, an amino acid found in foods such as shellfish and turkey, reduced psychotic symptoms within 12 weeks in 121 patients with first-episode psychosis in one study, researchers reported. The antioxidants N-acetyl cysteine and vitamin C improved measures of oxidative stress, which was linked with reduced psychiatric symptoms, in other studies.
Meanwhile, omega-3 supplementation appeared to improve brain health in patients with first-episode psychosis, although evidence for reducing psychotic symptoms was conflicting, the review found.
The research team plans to launch a new clinical trial this year investigating the effects of a single supplement containing all of the potentially beneficial nutrients.
“Individual nutrients appear to have moderate effects on mental health, at best,” said Dr. Firth, who is also an honorary research fellow at The University of Manchester, England.
“A combined nutrient intervention, explicitly designed from the evidence-base in psychosis, may therefore confer larger and more beneficial effects for young people with this condition.”
—Jolynn Tumolo
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