Effective mood stabilization with a chelated mineral supplement: an open-label trial in bipolar disorder.

Kaplan BJ, Simpson JS, Ferre RC, Gorman CP, McMullen DM, Crawford SG.
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2001 Dec;62(12):936-44.

 

ABSTRACT:

A group of scientists at the University of Calgary and the Alberta Children’s Hospital conducted a study to determine the therapeutic benefit of EMPowerplus™ on 14 unselected adult bipolar patients who had taken psychotropic medications for an average of 6.7 years. Patients were assessed by their own psychiatrists with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS).

Results: For the 11 patients who completed the minimum 6-month open trial, average symptom reduction was 55% on the HAM-D, 60% on the BPRS, and 66% on the YMRS. The effect size for the intervention was large (>.8) for each measure. The number of psychotropic medications decreased significantly from an average of 2.7 to 1.0. In some cases, the micronutrient treatment replaced psychotropic medications and the patients remained stable. The only reported side effect (i.e., nausea) was infrequent, minor, and transitory.

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