Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) occurs in approximately 4-5 percent of the adults Almeida Montez, Hernandez Garca, & Ricardo-Garcell, 2007; Kessler et al. 2006) and a large proportion of these adults do not respond to treatment with medications (Biederman et al., 2006: Spencer et al., 2005; Torgersen et al., 2008). In a recent open-label trial of a broad band nutritional supplement in the treatment of adults with ADHD and mood instability, participants showed improvements in hyperactivity, impulsivity and mood (Rucklidge et al., in press). The purpose of the current study is to conduct a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to examine the helpfulness of this nutritional supplement in the treatment of adults with ADHD. Participants with ADHD take part in a 16-week trial. For the first eight weeks of the study, participants are randomly (i.e., like the toss of a coin) assigned to either the micronutrient pill group or the placebo pill group. For the following eight weeks, participants take part in an open-label (i.e., participants know what they are taking) trial. Blood and urine tests are taken at three times during the study to monitor participants' safety. Measures of ADHD symptoms, mood, and pill compliance are taken throughout the study. Participants also take part in some activities to measure brain functioning and processing pre-randomisation and following the RCT phase of the study in order for researchers to examine the impact of the micronutrients on brain processing.
Brigette Gorman, PhD, PGDipClPs
ADHD and Micronutrient Research Coordinator
Department of Psychology
University of Canterbury
Julia Rucklidge, PhD, CPsych
Associate Professor
Clinical Psychologist (Registered)
Department of Psychology
University of Canterbury
New Zealand