Use of Nutritional Supplements Based on L-Theanine and Vitamin B6 in Children with Tourette Syndrome, with Anxiety Disorders: A Pilot Study

Overview

Journal Nutrients

Date 2022 Feb 26

PMID 35215501

Authors

Renata Rizzo

Adriana Prato

Miriam Scerbo

Federica Saia

Rita Barone

Paolo Curatolo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics and co-occurring disorders. It has been suggested that anxiety occurs in 2-45% patients affected by Tourette syndrome. Despite dietary and nutritional factors have been found to affect a range of neurological conditions, no more studies have investigated the relationship between nutritional supplements and tics.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of supplementation of both L-Theanine and Vitamin B6 in reducing tics and co-occurring disorders in a sample of youth with chronic tic disorder (CTD) or Tourette syndrome with anxiety symptoms.

Design: A open-label trial. Patients affected by Tourette syndrome were randomized to receive nutritional supplements based on L-Theanine and vitamin B6, or psychoeducation (PE).

Participants: 34 children (30 boys and 4 girls) aged between 4 and 17 years affected by Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder, associated with anxiety symptoms.

Results: Patients in both groups showed a reduction in the severity of tic and anxiety symptoms. Supplementation with L-Theanine and vitamin B6 was significantly more effective than psychoeducation in reducing tics and co-occurring disorders, as measured by neuropsychological findings.

Conclusions: Supplementation of both L-Theanine and Vitamin B6 may help in the treatment of tic disorders associated with anxious symptoms. Between-group differences in clinician-rated severity did reach statistical significance only for tics. Despite this finding, further placebo-controlled trials are needed.

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