Natural Help for Schizophrenia
This just published study suggests that a safe, simple, inexpensive natural treatment may help people struggling with schizophrenia.
There is evidence that inflammation and disturbed gut microbiota can play a role in schizophrenia. Vitamin D and probiotics can regulate inflammatory responses. Probiotics also improve the gut microbiota. Vitamin D deficiency is an important factor in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, so correcting vitamin D deficiency is crucial. Probiotics may increase vitamin D levels and may enhance vitamin D receptors.
All of this suggests that supplementing vitamin D and probiotics might help people with schizophrenia. That is what this novel double-blind study set out to find out.
In the study, 69 people with schizophrenia were given either a placebo or a combination of probiotics and 400IU vitamin D a day for 12 weeks.
At the end of the study, scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test increased by a significant 1.96 units in the supplement group compared to the placebo group. The percentage of people with scores above 26 went up significantly in the supplement group but not in the placebo group. This result is important because , on the 30 point scale, a score below 26 indicates cognitive impairment.
Severity of disease scores (PANNS) were also reduced, by 2.82 units, in the supplement group, but the difference was not significant.
This study suggests that taking vitamin D and probiotics can improve cognition and prevent cognitive impairment in people with schizophrenia.
Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2024 Jun;44(2):389–398.
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