Assessing Magnesium Supplements for Autism

Do magnesium supplements for autism work?

Magnesium supplements were included after a study done in the 1950's on vitamin B6 and schizophrenia. But the inclusion of magnesium was to counteract the effect of high doses of vitamin B6, which had side effects like bedwetting, irritability, and oversensitivity to sound. It was not because the people running the studies had any great desire to test the effect of magnesium on treating those with schizophrenia.

Because the study showed a possible improvement in using language, these supplements were tried on children with autism. But when the Canadian Autism Intervention Research Network analysed the existing studies available, only two met their criteria for inclusion in their review. And of those two studies, the data in one was reported in a way that made it difficult to analyse, and the second study found no significant difference between the placebo group and the group given the magnesium and vitamin B6 supplements.

CAIRN conclude: "There is no evidence of an acceptably high level to state that a combination of Vitamin B6 and magnesium improves the behaviour or social and communication skills of children and adults with autism."

So, magnesium supplements for autism are not recommended at this stage.

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