| Summary: | 碩士 === 南華大學 === 自然醫學研究所 === 96 === Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of food supplement on schizophrenic patients.
Methods: Patients diagnosed as moderate to severe schizophrenia within the ages of 18 to 65 were recruited into the study after informed consent was obtained. They were randomly divided into three groups. The patients in Group A received drug treatment and food supplement, Group B received drug treatment only, and Group C received food supplement only. Patients were not masked to their group assignment. The patients were evaluated every week using PANSS (Positive And Negative Symptoms Scales for schizophrenia), CDSS (Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia), and ESRS (Extrapyramidal Syndrome Rating Scales) (together with a general observation questionnaire) for their psychotic symptoms, depression symptoms and side effects, respectively.
Results: A total of 48 patients enrolled in the study. The percentage of improvement was 30.51% for Group A (P<0.01 for within-group comparison), 44.96% for Group B (P< 0.01 for within-group comparison), 24.80% (P< 0.01 for within-group comparison) using PANSS. There were significant differences between group B and A, as well as B and C (between-group comparison for A and B: P=0.008; for B and C: P=0.001). There were no significant differences between Group A and Group C. In addition, there were no significant differences observed in either within-group or between-group comparison using CDSS. Furthermore, the side effect of sedation was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A (P=0.033).
Conclusion: The augmenting effect of using the food supplement in addition to the drug treatment was unable to be demonstrated in this study. Using the food supplement alone could not replace the therapeutic effect of the drug treatment. Lower average dose requirement of antipsychotics and fewer side effects were found in Group A compared with Group B, However, fewer side effects might be related to the lower average dose itself.
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