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Megavitamins and Learning Disorders: a Controlled Double-Blind Experiment^1,2,

Department of Special Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, and Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

The study investigated the effectiveness of large amounts of ascorbic acid, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, and pyridoxine when added to a low carbohydrate-high protein diet with 20 learning disabled children. After a double-blind, 6-month period of treatment, the addition of vitamins to the diet failed to produce significant improvements when compared to the diet alone on a variety of intellectual, school achievement, perceptual, and behavioral, measures. Regardless of their group assignment, 18 children showed improvements on a parent-administered behavior checklist. However, without a diet-placebo control group, these gains may have been produced by parental enthusiasm or the children's maturation rather than dietary control. The children's urinary excretion of kryptopyrrole was unrelated to whether or not they showed pre-, post-test gains and, therefore, proved to be invalid as a screening test for "vitamin dependent (on pharmacologic doses) learning disorders."

KEY WORDS: • megavitamins • hyperactivity • learning disorders

¹ The study was supported by a research grant from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

² We thank Paul Cutler, M.D., private practice, Toronto, who was our nutritional consultant.

Manuscript received 2 November 1978.