Therapeutic Effect of Vitamin C
A Co-Twin Control Study
- Judy Z. Miller;
- Walter E. Nance, MD, PhD;
- James A. Norton, PhD;
- Robert L. Wolen, PhD;
- Richard S. Griffith, MD;
- Richard J. Rose, PhD
Abstract
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 subgroups. 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-month period of the study.
(JAMA 237:248-251, 1977)
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to 1100 W Michigan St, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (Ms Miller).
