INOSITOL TREATMENT OF OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

Objective: Earlier studies reported that inositol, a simple polyol sec ond messenger precursor, was effective in controlled trials for patien ts with depression and panic. In this study its effectiveness in obses sive-compulsive disorder was investigated. Method: Thirteen patients w ith obsessive-compulsive disorder completed a double-blind, controlled crossover trial of 18 g/day of inositol or placebo for 6 weeks each. Results: The subjects had significantly lower scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale when taking inositol than when taking plac ebo. Conclusions: The authors conclude that inositol is effective in d epression, panic, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, a spectrum of dis orders responsive to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.