B Vitamins Reduce Schizophrenia Symptoms: Study

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By Sylvia Booth Hubbard   |   Thursday, 16 Feb 2017 11:40 AM

High doses of B vitamins reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia, says a study published in the journal Psychological Medicine. Researchers found that adding B vitamins, including B6, inositol, and B12 significantly improved symptoms of the debilitating condition.

Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic mental disorder that makes people feel they have lost touch with reality, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Symptoms can include hearing voices or seeing things that aren’t there, and thinking others are reading their minds or planning to harm them. Up to 3.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with the disorder.

Currently, patients are treated with antipsychotic drugs. Although patients typically experience remission of symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions within the first few months of treatment, 80 percent of patients relapse within five years.

For the new study, researchers identified 18 clinical trials with a combined total of 832 patients receiving antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia. They found that B-vitamin interventions which used higher dosages or combined several vitamins were consistently effective for reducing psychiatric symptoms, whereas those which used lower doses were ineffective.

The evidence also suggested that B-vitamin supplements were most beneficial when they were added to medicine regimens early after diagnosis.

“Looking at all of the data from clinical trials of vitamin and mineral supplements for schizophrenia to date, we can see that B vitamins effectively improve outcomes for some patients,” said lead author Joseph Firth of the University of Manchester.

 

“This could be an important advance, given that new treatments for this condition are so desperately needed.”

“This builds on existing evidence of other food-derived supplements, such as certain amino-acids, which have been beneficial for people with schizophrenia,” said co-author Jerome Sarris of Western Sydney University.

“These new findings also fit with our latest research examining how multi-nutrient treatments can reduce depression and other disorders.” Recent research, also conducted at the University of Manchester, found that aerobic exercise can ease the symptoms of schizophrenia. Researchers analyzed data from 10 clinical trials and found that 12 weeks of aerobic exercise, including treadmills and exercise bikes, significantly improved memory and concentration.

“We are searching for new ways to treat these aspects of the illness, and now research is increasingly suggesting that physical exercise can provide a solution,” said Firth.