Certain Nutrients May Improve Recovery in Early Psychosis

Welcome to PD’s weekly comment feature. This week’s contribution is from Dr Joe Firth, Research Fellow, National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM).

EXTENSIVE research in long-term psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, has established that nutritional deficiencies are common in this population. Furthermore, targeted supplementation with certain nutrients can reduce some schizophrenia symptoms.

Until now however, the role of nutritional deficits and supplementation in young people within the early stages of psychosi has been largely unexplored. Therefore, researchers from 'NICM Health Research Institute' systematically reviewed all of the evidence in this field.

The researchers' first analyses pooled data from 28 independent studies examining blood levels of six vitamins and ten dietary minerals across thousands of early psychosis patients. The meta• analyses showed that people with early psychosis have large, significant deficits in blood levels of Vitamin-D, Vitamin-C, and Vitamin-Bg (folate) compared to regular healthy people. These deficits existed from the very onset of psychosis, even prior to any antipsychotic treatment.

The team followed this up with .a systematic review of nutritional supplements in early psychosis. This identified 8 experimental studies; with trials indicating clinical benefits from amino acid supplementation in early psychosis (particularly taurine and n-acetyl cysteine). There was also a complete absence of studies examining effects of b-vitamin or multi-nutrient supplementation — presenting these as potentially useful adjunctive treatments for future trials.