The effects of inositol treatment in animal models of psychiatric disorders

Clinical trials indicate th;lt inositol may be effective in the treatment o f patients with depression, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorde r (OCD), but not in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia, Alzheimer 's disease, ADHD or autism. This spectrum of clinical action parallels that of serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), bur inositol is a prec ursor in the phosphatidylinositol cycle, a second messenger system distal t o the receptor for 5HT-2. To study its mechanism of therapeutic action ther e is a need to test inositol's activity in animal models of psychopathology . In rats, chronic inositol was demonstrated to increase activity levels, r educe immobility time in the forced swim test and in the reserpine-induced hypoactivity models: of depression, and reduce anxiety-like behaviors in th e elevated plus-maze. The reduction in anxiety-like behaviors appears to be related to baseline levels of activity. Inositol treatment was not observe d to have any effect on amphetamine-induced hyperactivity, apomorphine-indu ced stereotypy, or on the performance of memory tasks by monkeys. Clinical controlled trials of inositol in patients with depression, panic disorder, and OCD were small, and positive psychoactive effects in animals clearly st rengthen the case for further clinical trials and potential for general the rapeutic use in humans. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.