Where are the Niacin Studies for Schizophrenia?

from November 2009, timely today in regard to the discussion about psychiatry currently in the news.

Natural Mental Health

UPDATE 12/21 - Food Sources of Niacin (B3)

UPDATE: 12/18 - If you have been a proponent of natural mental health you would already have known that omega 3 EFAs have been an effective help to many who live with several mental health issues.

BETHESDA, Md., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids may be a factor in mental illnesses, U.S. researchers suggest.

The study, published in Behavioral Neuroscience, named two omega-3 fatty acids -- docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid -- as key to maintaining a nervous system capable of avoiding sensory overload.

The researchers suggest low omega-3 may be linked to the information-processing problems found in people with afflictions of the nervous system including schizophrenia and bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders.

The researchers looked at nervous system function in the offspring of four groups of pregnant mice that had been fed different diets with no or varying types and amounts of omega-3s. Only the mice raised on the two omega-3 fatty acids showed normal, adaptive sensorimotor nervous responses that did not result in the animals being perpetually startled and easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli.

"It is an uphill battle now to reverse the message that 'fats are bad,' and to increase omega-3 fats in our diet," study leader Norman Salem Jr. of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda said in a statement.

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Travelling back some 50 or more years ago there were some members of the medical profession who took a totally different look at mental health issues.  Instead of fluoride based anti-psychotics, these courageous fellows relied on nutritional supplementation and effectively treated thousands of people diagnosed as schizophrenic.

And to make it all the more respectable, numerous scientific reports were issued on this care that came to be known as orthomolecular medicine.

And you might wonder why PubMed fails to include the orthomolecular journal so you might be more able to find related data.

Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorders
Double blind controlled therapeutic trials in Saskatchewan in 1952 showed that adding vitamin B-3 to the treatment then available, which was electro convulsive therapy, doubled the recovery rate. From this start, and corroborated by a large number of clinical studies and by one double blind corroborative study that was sponsored by National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, this early treatment has been refined and expanded. There are no negative studies. It now includes examination of the diet for possible food allergies; includes using optimum doses of vitamin B-3, which range from 3 to 12 or more grams daily; includes the use of vitamin C as an important antioxidant and other vitamins if needed, plus the best medication. As patients respond, the doses of medication and the nutrients are adjusted until the optimum doses of all nutrients and drugs is achieved. This treatment should be under medical control.

Nutrients Most Commonly Used For Schizophrenia and Schizo-Affective Disorders (under medical supervision):



* Vitamin B-3

* Vitamin C

* Vitamin B-6

* Zinc

* Vitamin B complex

* Selenium

Mood Disorders: Anxiety, Bipolar or Depression -
The following nutrients are helpful in controlling mood disorders (under medical supervision):


* Niacinamide

* B complex

* Vitamin C

* Folic acid

* Vitamin D

* Vitamin B-6
* Zinc citrate

* Essential fatty acids


In contrast to anti depressant medication I have not yet seen the type of warning issued by Professor Lana Watkins PhD, Duke University, who told the Annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society held in Denver, March 4, 2006, that current anti depressants increased the risk of dying from heart disease by 55 percent.

"Orthomolecular treatment does not lend itself to rapid drug-like control of symptoms, but patients get well to a degree not seen by tranquilizer therapists who believe orthomolecular therapists are prone to exaggeration. Those who've seen the results are astonished." 
---Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., 1917-2009

Read: http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/08/arthritis-drugs-pose-cancer-risk.html

FDA Okays New Antipsychotic for Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
By Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today, August 14, 2009

WASHINGTON -- The FDA approved the atypical antipsychotic asenapine (Saphris) for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults, making it the first psychotropic drug to gain initial approval for both conditions.

The drug is indicated for first-line use in acute treatment of schizophrenia and of manic or mixed episodes in bipolar I disorder, with or without psychotic features.

FDA approval was based on data from more than 3,000 patients showing statistically significant efficacy versus placebo in acute schizophrenia trials and statistically significant reduction of bipolar mania symptoms versus placebo.

The drug showed signs of treating negative schizophrenia symptoms better than risperidone (Risperdal) in early clinical trials, but the advantage was not subsequently confirmed against olanzapine (Zyprexa, Zydis). (See APA: New Drug No Better for Negative Schizophrenia Symptoms)

Like other atypical antipsychotics, asenapine's side effects include sedation, weight gain, tardive dyskinesia, and diabetes risks. However, a clinical trial showed that asenapine's rate of weight gain was significantly lower than that experienced with olanzapine, a similar antipsychotic.

Atypical antipsychotics also show an increased likelihood of death in elderly patients treated for dementia-related psychosis.

The tablets are available in five and 10 mg doses and should be taken twice daily.

Manufacturer Schering-Plough said it plans to make the drug available in the fourth quarter of 2009.