New Zealand researchers recently published a case study paper in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs regarding the effect of EMPowerplus on cannabis and nicotine abuse.
The case study involved a 20-year-old man who met DSM-IV criteria for ADHD combined type, major depressive disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and substance abuse. Brian used cigarettes and cannabis daily and had been on medications for his psychiatric symptoms (including methylphenidate, imipramine, fluoxetine, clonidine, amitriptyline, lorazepam, and clonazepam).
The trial began with a baseline phase of four weeks, and then a first treatment phase (10 weeks), during which he consumed a standard dose of EMPowerplus every day. In a planned reversal of treatment, he stopped taking EMPowerplus for 10 weeks and resumed consumption in a final treatment phase of four months. During this time, he took no psychiatric medications.
What researchers found was the following:
He responded to a micronutrient treatment with improvements in all his psychiatric symptoms including depression, ADHD, and anxiety. His positive response to treatment was replicated through a reversal design, demonstrating on-off control of symptoms when micronutrients were consumed and then withdrawn. The detection of these treatment-related changes is aided by the stable baseline observed over a one-month period. Of particular interest, both Brian’s nicotine and cannabis use reportedly decreased while on the micronutrients and increased again while off.
The researchers had not set out to study the effect of EMPowerplus on cigarette and cannabis use, but it is interesting that along with the stabilizing of his psychiatric symptoms, his dependence on tobacco and cannabis waned while on EMPowerplus.