Here's an analysis of the reserach:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20070815/549.pdfHere are the studies analyzed:
24. Benjamin J, Levine J, Fux M, Aviv A, Levy D, Belmaker
RH. Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of
inositol treatment for panic disorder. Am J Psychiatry
1995;152:1084-6.
25. Palatnik A, Frolov K, Fux M, Benjamin J. Double-blind,
controlled, crossover trial of inositol versus fluvoxamine
for the treatment of panic disorder. J Clin Psychopharmacol
2001;21:335-9.
26. Fux M, Levine J, Aviv A, Belmaker RH. Inositol treatment
of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Am J Psychiatry
1996;153:1219-21.
27. Fux M, Benjamin J, Belmaker RH. Inositol versus placebo
augmentation of serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the
treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a doubleblind
cross-over study. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol
1999;2:193-5.
Here's an anecdotal account br a Dr. Penzel who makes it sound like he runs a 'psychiatric clinic', and was inspired to try it for OCD based on the study by Fux in 1996 (emphasis mine):
http://westsuffolkpsych.homestead.com/Inositol_and_OCD.htmlThe article proved to be the convincer for us. We had a number of OCD patients, who were only getting partial relief from prescription antidepressants, so we decided to suggest the possibility of their trying inositol as an augmenting agent, in addition to what they were already taking. I should mention here that our clinic is a rather busy treatment center, and unfortunately, not really geared toward conducting research, so we really didn't collect any data on this. I know my learned colleagues will shake their heads at this, and they would be right. In any case, we started to see some positive results among some of those who tried it. In most cases, these results ranged from at least mild to moderate relief of symptoms. A few reported even more improvement. We have generally built up our patients over a six-week period, starting with 1 teaspoon (2gms) twice per day, and going as high as 3 teaspoons, three times per day. It turned out that not everyone required the full 18 grams used in the Fux study. One person was seen to improve on just 2 grams daily.
Since that time, we have also seen some positive results child cases as well. I have also received some positive e-mails and phone calls from O-C around the country who have heard of inositol, and tried it. Although it was probably not as precise as we would have liked, we based our children's doses on body weight, figuring roughly that a 40-lb. child could tolerate a maximum dose of up to 6gms. of inositol per day.
I do not believe that inositol is a 'miracle drug' for everyone with OCD. There are no miracle treatments. I am sharing this information with sufferers out there in hopes that it may help at least some people who have not otherwise been able to get relief, or who are too afraid of prescription medications to try anything. I also decided to write about this because I felt that some people might hear of this through some other sources, and try inositol without any guidance.
**Please note the following: This advice is purely informational, and not in any way meant to be a substitute for treatment by a licensed physician. Do not try this, or anything else, without first consulting your physician. If your M.D. has not heard about it, refer them to the American Journal of Psychiatry article and let them decide.
