Nutrients for Autism (2011)

This study investigated nutrients for autism. It involved  giving 141 children and adults with autism, a multi-nutrient formula containing a broad range of vitamins and minerals or a placebo. Their symptoms were assessed before and after the study which ran for three months. Fifty-three of the children in the study also had blood measures taken of nutritional and metabolic status(biomarkers) before and after.

In terms of symptoms, the supplemented group had significantly greater improvements than the placebo group on the following scores: Parental Global Impressions (PGI-R), Hyperactivity, Tantrumming, Overall and Receptive Language. The change in the PGI-R was strongly associated with a number of the biomarkers suggesting that there is a relationship between changes in biomarkers and changes in symptoms.

Levels of many vitamins, minerals, and biomarkers improved including markers of oxidative stress thought to be elevated in autism, as well as markers of key biological processes such as methylation and sulphation.

Click here for the abstract

Adams JB, Audhya T, McDonough-Means S, Rubin RA, Quig D, Geis E, Gehn E, Loresto M, Mitchell J, Atwood S, Barnhouse S, Lee W. (2011) Effect of a vitamin/mineral supplement on children and adults with autism. BMC Pediatr. 11:111.