Tier 2 — strong

A Pilot Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Glycine for Treatment of Schizophrenia and Alcohol Dependence

Serrita J, Ralevski E, Yoon G, Petrakis I
Journal of dual diagnosis 2019 15(1):46-55

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 30633660
DOI
10.1080/15504263.2018.1549764
Funding
Indexed support: Stanley Foundation; Veterans Affairs VISN I Mental Illness Research. See the publication for grant and funder details.
Competing interests
The accessible abstract does not establish the authors' competing interests; absence of a statement is not evidence of no conflicts.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized controlled human intervention
ModelAdult humans
Sample20 adults with schizophrenia and alcohol dependence
InterventionGlycine 0.8 g/kg/day versus matching placebo
Duration12 weeks
EndpointsHeavy drinking days; Alcohol craving; Negative symptoms; Cognition

What the study showed, in plain terms

In this small dual-diagnosis trial, glycine did not improve alcohol-use or schizophrenia outcomes. The study tested a difficult clinical population rather than a general supplement use case.

Key findings

  • No advantage was found for drinking, craving or negative symptoms.
  • Cognitive testing also did not show benefit.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Small sample limits precision.

The findings cannot be extrapolated directly to every alcohol-use population or lower-dose regimen.

Related papers in the corpus

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The Cognitive and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia Trial (CONSIST): the efficacy of glutamatergic agents for negative symptoms and cognitive impairments
Buchanan RW et al. · The American journal of psychiatry · 2007
Tier 2
Effect of clozapine and adjunctive high-dose glycine in treatment-resistant schizophrenia
Potkin SG et al. · The American journal of psychiatry · 1999
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High-dose glycine added to olanzapine and risperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia
Heresco-Levy U et al. · Biological psychiatry · 2004
Tier 2
Efficacy of high-dose glycine in the treatment of enduring negative symptoms of schizophrenia
Heresco-Levy U et al. · Archives of general psychiatry · 1999
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Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of glycine adjuvant therapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia
Heresco-Levy U et al. · The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 1996
Tier 2
Amelioration of negative symptoms in schizophrenia by glycine
Javitt DC et al. · The American journal of psychiatry · 1994

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction