Inositol may worsin attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity

Abstract

Abstract Antidepressant drugs have been reported to improve ADDH symtomatology. Myoinositol is a simple isomer of glucose and is the precursor of the phosphatidylinositol second messenger system in brain. Both α 1 ‐adrenergic and 5HT 2 receptors activate this second messenger system. Recently, we found inositol to be effective in depression. Therefore we decided to evaluate the effects of oral inositol in children with ADDH in a double‐blind, cross‐over, placebo‐controlled manner. Eleven children, mean age 8.9 ± 3.6 years with a mean illness duration of 4.5 ± 2.8 years were enrolled in an 8‐week trial. Inositol or dextrose (placebo) was dispensed in powder form at a dose of 200 mg/kg aggravation of the syndrome with myo‐inositol as compared to placebo.