Lecithin in the treatment of mania: double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

The authors report double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of pure lecithin in the treatment of mania. As in preliminary trials, lecithin appeared to be nontoxic and effective. Improvement with lecithin was significantly greater than improvement with placebo in five of the six patients studied. The concurrent use of anticholinergic agents did not prevent the antimanic effect of lecithin. The authors discuss the possible mechanism of action of lecithin, including cholinergic and membrane-altering effects.