Micronutrients and Childhood Psychosis (2012)

This study investigated micronutrients in childhood psychosis. Childhood psychosis is difficult to address effectively with conventional pharmaceuticals, many of which have adverse long-term health consequences. In contrast, there are promising reports from several research groups of micronutrient treatment (vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids) of mood, anxiety and psychosis symptoms using a complex formula that appears to be safe and tolerable. The study reviews previous studies using this formula to support mental symptoms, and presents an 11-year-old boy with a 3-year history of mental illness whose parents chose to transition him from medication to micronutrients. Symptom severity was monitored in three clusters: anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and psychosis. Complete remission of psychosis occurred, and severity of anxiety and obsessional symptoms decreased significantly (p<0.001); the improvements are sustained at 4-year follow-up. A cost comparison revealed that micronutrient treatment was <1% of his inpatient mental healthcare. Additional research on broad-spectrum micronutrient treatment is warranted.

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Efficacy and cost of micronutrient treatment of childhood psychosis. Rodway et al. (2012). British Medical Journal Case Reports, doi:10.1136/bcr-2012-007213