BMJ  2008;336:568-569 (15 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39475.655058.80 (published 21 February 2008)

Editorials

Giving antioxidants to infants with Down’s syndrome

Does not improve psychomotor development

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In their accompanying randomised controlled trial, Ellis and colleagues assess whether supplementation with antioxidants or folinic acid (or both) improves the psychomotor and language development of children under 7 months old who have Down’s syndrome. The trial compared daily oral supplementation with antioxidants (selenium 10 µg, zinc 5 mg, vitamin A 0.9 mg, vitamin E 100 mg, and vitamin C 50 mg), folinic acid (0.1 mg), antioxidants and folinic acid combined, or placebo and found no significant difference in outcomes at 18 months.¹

Antioxidants, vitamins, and miscellaneous food supplements are often believed to cure all manner of ills. In many cases, however, belief in food supplements flies in the face of the evidence.² Vitamins have been tested as a preventive measure for cardiovascular disease, but the heart protection study (vitamin E, vitamin C, ß carotene, 20 mg/d), the Norwegian vitamin trial (folic acid, vitamin B12), and a meta-analysis of the . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Clinical Chemistry Department, Queen’s Hospital, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire DE13 0RB

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Related Article

Supplementation with antioxidants and folinic acid for children with Down’s syndrome: randomised controlled trial

Jill M Ellis, Hooi Kuan Tan, Ruth E Gilbert, David P R Muller, William Henley, Robert Moy, Rachel Pumphrey, Cornelius Ani, Sarah Davies, Vanessa Edwards, Heather Green, Alison Salt, and Stuart Logan
BMJ 2008 336: 594-597. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]