There are experimental data showing beneficial actions of inositol and
inositol hexaphosphate (InsP6) in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The
different stereoisomers of inositol, myo-, epi-, scyllo- and chiro-inositol have shown
efficacy in Alzheimer’s disease. The antioxidant and cation chelating properties of
InsP6 are considered to be some of the mechanisms; those of myo-inositol are not clear.
Insofar as psychiatric diseases, lithium salts have been in use since the 1950s for bipolar
disorder. While on one hand there is reduction of myo-inositol by lithium, myo-inositol
on the other hand has been found useful in psychiatric disorders, and at least in one
study of bipolar disorder. Thus, further studies of myo-inositol, and InsP6 in the
treatment of bipolar disorder are warranted. A clinical trial of InsP6 in bipolar disorder
is underway.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, BACE 1, bipolar disorder, CGI-S, HAM-D,
Levodopa, lithium, MADRS, OCD, panic disorder, Parkinson’s disease, Y-BOCS.
