Perhaps if Mark Thorson would take 18 grams of myo inositol he
wouldn't
have such a compulsion to post to MHA.
====================================

J. Clin Psychopharmacol. 2001 Jun;21(3):335-9.

Double-blind, controlled, crossover trial of inositol versus
fluvoxamine for the
treatment of panic disorder.

Palatnik A, Frolov K, Fux M, Benjamin J.

Ministry of Health Mental Health Center, Faculty of Health Sciences,
Ben Gurion, University of the Negev, Beer-Sheba, Israel.

Only 70% of patients respond to current treatments for panic disorder,
and many discontinue drugs because of side effects. myo-Inositol, a
natural isomer of
glucose and a precursor for the second-messenger phosphatidyl-inositol
system, has previously been found superior to placebo in the treatment
of depression, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD), but a direct comparison with an established drug has never been
performed. A double-blind, controlled, random-order crossover study
was undertaken to compare the effect of inositol with that of
fluvoxamine in panic disorder. Twenty patients completed 1 month of
inositol up to 18 g/day and 1 month of fluvoxamine up to 150 mg/day.
Improvements on Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety scores, agoraphobia
scores, and Clinical Global Impressions Scale scores were similar for
both treatments. In the first
month, inositol reduced the number of panic attacks per week (mean and
SD) by 4.0 (2) compared with a reduction of 2.4 (2) with fluvoxamine
(p = 0.049). Nausea and tiredness were more common with fluvoxamine (p
= 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). Because inositol is a natural
compound with few known side effects, it is attractive to patients who
are ambivalent about taking psychiatric medication. Continuing reports
of inositol's efficacy in the treatment of depression, panic disorder,
and OCD should stimulate replication studies.

PMID: 11386498