Giving antioxidants to infants with Down's syndrome

doi:10.1136/bmj.39475.655058.80

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 andcolleagues assess whether supplementation with antioxidantsor folinic acid (or both) improves the psychomotor and languagedevelopment of children under 7 months old who have Down’ssyndrome. The trial compared daily oral supplementation withantioxidants (selenium 10 µg, zinc 5 mg, vitamin A 0.9mg, vitamin E 100 mg, and vitamin C 50 mg), folinic acid (0.1mg), antioxidants and folinic acid combined, or placebo andfound no significant difference in outcomes at 18 months.¹

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

Tim Reynolds, consultant chemical pathologist

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

tim.reynolds@burtonh-tr.wmids.nhs.uk

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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]