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ADJUNCTIVE USE WITH SSRIS MAY BE INEFFECTIVE. Studies using inositol as an
adjunctive treatment with SSRIs have not shown any therapeutic benefit.^11 Belmaker
and Levine thus propose inositol as a stand-alone supplement rather than as a
complement for SSRIs, noting responses in the same people, equal efficacy, and no
additional benefit from using both drugs in combination.
But in a 2011 analysis that included Mischoulon as a participant, Iovieno et al.^12
summarize the evidence as “conflicting:” There are six published clinical trials of
inositol for outpatient treatment of depression, of which five were placebo-controlled.
Only the 1995 Levine et al. study used inositol as monotherapy; the others augmented
conventional antidepressants and mood stabilizers with inositol. Inositol outperformed
placebo in three of the five controlled studies, but all sample sizes were small, and
statistical significance was reached in only one study.
- SUGGESTED BUT UNPROVEN USES: OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER: Brown et al,
Brown et al II and Lake and Spiegel all find evidence of the efficacy of inositol in treating
obsessive-compulsive disorder. The obsessive-compulsive study used a crossover design
that makes it hard to evaluate, since there is a delay in the effects of inositol
supplementation. Thus, Belmaker and Levine did not accept it. But the use of inositol in
OCD is certainly promising.
- SUGGESTED BUT UNPROVEN USES: BIPOLAR DISORDER: Brown et al. II find evidence that
inositol can be effective in treating bipolar disorder. Belmaker and Levine agree that the
studies cited by Brown et al. suggest that a large, well-controlled study might show that
inositol could be effective in treating bipolar disorder, but they caution that the results so
far are not significant. A 1996 study by Levine et al. reported three cases of possible
inositol-induced hypomania.
- SUGGESTED BUT UNPROVEN USES: EATING DISORDERS: Brown et al. II and Lake and
Spiegel accepted the inositol monotherapy used by Gelber et al. (2001) for previously
