High doses of B vitamins can effectively reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia, researchers at Manchester University reported last night.
The conclusions come from a metanalysis of 18 randomised clinical trials conducted on the topic.
The researchers say their study suggests that the vitamins work best when taken early on in illness.
The 18 trials involved some 862 patients and the findings were published in the journal Psychological Medicine yesterday.
Researcher Joseph Firth, from Manchester, said the findings could be an "important advance."
He said: “High-dose B-vitamins may be useful for reducing residual symptoms in people with schizophrenia, although there were significant differences among the findings of the studies we looked at.
“There is also some indication that these overall effects may be driven by larger benefits among subgroups of patients who have relevant genetic or dietary nutritional deficiencies.”
Fellow researcher Professor Jerome Sarris, of Western Sydney University, Australia, said the findings confirmed the benefits of investigating the effect of nutrition in psychiatric disorders.
He said: “This builds on existing evidence of other food-derived supplements, such as certain amino-acids, been beneficial for people with schizophrenia.
“These new findings also fit with our latest research examining how multi-nutrient treatments can reduce depression and other disorders.”
The effects of vitamin and mineral supplementation on symptoms of schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis Psychological Medicine 17 February 2017
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