Does this make sense?

[newshound]

My pediatrician is somewhat involved in alternative medicine.
Here's what she's ordered for my 7-yr old with inattentive ADHD:

Kirkman Trimethylglycine TMG
recommended dose: 1-2 tsp

Kirkman LGlutamine Capsules 250 Mg
recommended dose: 4 capsules

Kirkman Super Nu Thera w 25 mg P5P
recommended dose: 3 caplets

Kirkman Gluthione
recommended dose: 1 level scoop daily

I believe its either/or on the LGlutamine and Gluthione, whichever he likes better.
Do those sound like the right dosages?

[catatonic]

Glutathione is a great antioxidant, and supports neurological health. I don't know that it has any specific treatment value for ADHD, but it's good for your brain.

Glutamine is one I'd recommend being careful with, as there is clinical evidence that children with ADHD may already have elevated glutamine brain levels. Adding to that might worsen symptoms as opposed to alleviating them. Check the most recent issue of Journal of Neuropsychiatry And Clincial Neuroscience for the article by Courvoisie et al called "Neurometabolic functioning and neuropsychological correlates in children with ADHD-H: preliminary findings." This corresponds to earlier findings that pharmaceutical treatment of ADHD reduced glutamate levels, indicating that lower glutamine levels may be related to symptom improvement. (See www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12897644 ) The January 2003 issue of Biological Psychiatry likewise reported elevated glutamine levels in ADHD children when compared with normal controls. On the other hand, LOW glutamine blood plasma levels were found in another study ( www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11727202 ). You might want to discuss use of glutamine in more detail with your doctor.

TMG would certainly be helpful if you have methylation issues, allergies or food sensitivities. I know that methionine is certainly helpful to some cases of ADHD. Unfortunately, like so many other treatments, it also hurts in other cases! I'd make sure to test this one separately from any other supplements and watch carefully for at least a week to determine if there are behavioral changes (either good or bad).

On the Super Nu-Thera, I think this is a high quality supplement with a nice balance of nutrients. The inclusion of P5P is -- AGAIN! -- something I'd advise testing separately from anything else, since this active form of B6 will produce behavioral improvements in about 10 - 15% if the cases, but worsen behavior in an equal number. (Those who do poorly on B6 tend to do well on B1 instead, and visa versa.) See the discussion on vitamins in "Way 5" of Laura Stevens' book "12 Efective Ways to Help Your ADD/ADHD Child" as well as the 1982 study by Brenner in Journal Of Learning Disabilities "The Effects of Megadoses of Selected B Comblex Vitamins on Children with Hyperkinesis."

Just make sure that you don't start all of these supplements all at once. Start them one at a time for a week before adding anything new. That way you'll know if they are helping or hurting.