There were no overall effects from antioxidant vitamins , inositol or dietary minerals on psychiatric symptoms .
There is preliminary evidence that certain vitamin and mineral supplements may reduce psychiatric symptoms in some people with schizophrenia .
BACKGROUND When used as an adjunctive with antipsychotics , certain vitamins and minerals may be effective for improving symptomatic outcomes of schizophrenia , by restoring nutritional deficits , reducing oxidative stress , or modulating neurological pathways .
Vitamin B6 treatment in acute neuroleptic-induced akathisia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
BACKGROUND Treatment strategies for acute neuroleptic-induced akathisia ( NIA ) contain anticholinergic ( antimuscarinic ) agents , dopamine agonists , gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic agents , beta-blockers , benzodiazepines , and serotonin antagonists . Nevertheless , many patients who suffer from acute akathisia fail to respond to treatment . In earlier studies , vitamin B6 was found to be effective in the treatment of neuroleptic-induced movement disorders . The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin B6 in the treatment of acute NIA . This is the first report of B6 as a treatment for NIA . METHOD This study was conducted in 2 mental health centers from February 2003 to November 2003 . Twenty schizophrenia and schizoaffective in patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of NIA were r and omly divided to receive vitamin B6 600 mg/day b.i.d . ( N = 10 ) or placebo ( N = 10 ) twice a day for 5 days in a double-blind design . The Barnes Akathisia Scale ( BAS ) , the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ( BPRS ) , and the Clinical Global Impressions scale ( CGI ) were used to assess the severity of NIA and psychotic symptoms . The BAS assessment was made at baseline and every day during the study . The BPRS and CGI were completed at baseline and at the end of the study . RESULTS The vitamin B6-treated patients in comparison with the placebo group showed a significant improvement on the subjective-awareness of restlessness ( p = .0004 ) , subjective-distress ( p = .01 ) , and global ( p = .004 ) subscales of the BAS . The objective subscale did not demonstrate significant positive results ( p = .079 ) , but there was a trend of symptom amelioration in the vitamin B6 group . A reduction of at least 2 points on the BAS global subscale was noted in 8 patients in the vitamin B6 group ( 80 % ) , and in only 3 patients in the placebo group ( 30 % ) ( p = .037 ) . CONCLUSION Our preliminary results indicate that high doses of vitamin B6 may be useful additions to the available treatments for NIA , perhaps due to its combined effects on various neurotransmitter systems
There were no overall effects from antioxidant vitamins , inositol or dietary minerals on psychiatric symptoms .
There is preliminary evidence that certain vitamin and mineral supplements may reduce psychiatric symptoms in some people with schizophrenia .
BACKGROUND When used as an adjunctive with antipsychotics , certain vitamins and minerals may be effective for improving symptomatic outcomes of schizophrenia , by restoring nutritional deficits , reducing oxidative stress , or modulating neurological pathways .