Therapeutic effect of vitamin C. A co-twin control study
J. Z. Miller, W. E. Nance, J. A. Norton, R. L. Wolen, R. S. Griffith and R. J. Rose
Three different dosages of vitamin C, dependent on body weight, were
administered to 44 school-aged monozygotic twins for five months using a
double-blind, co-twin control study design. The mothers recorded daily
observations of cold symptoms, and multiple biochemical, anthropometric,
and psychological measurements were made at the beginning and end of the
study. Paired comparisons showed no significant overall treatment effect on
cold symptoms, but the response was not uniform in all sub-groups. Treated
girls in the youngest two groups had significantly shorter and less severe
illness episodes, and an effect on severity was also observed in the
youngest group of boys. The seven treated twins in the latter group also
grew an average of 1.3 cm more than their untreated co-twins during the
five-minth period of the study.
