26.1.2016 A placebo-controlled clinical trial of L-tryptophan in premenstrual dysphoria. 
Department of Psychiatry, St. Mary's Hospital, Montreal,
Quebec, Canada.
BACKGROUND: Antidepressant drugs, including specific serotonin
reuptake inhibitors, have been shown to be beneficial in the
treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorders.
The present study tests the efficacy of L-tryptophan, which acts
specifically on serotonergic neurons, in this disorder. METHODS: In
a randomized controlled clinical trial, 37 patients with
premenstrual dysphoric disorder were treated with L-tryptophan 6 g
per day, and 34 were given placebo. více
26.1.2016 Review: Effects of acute tryptophan depletion on memory, attention and executive functions: A systematic review 
Daniel Mendelsohna, b,
Wim J. Riedela and
Anke Sambetha,
,
aDepartment of Neuropsychology and
Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience,
Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, NL-6200 MD Maastricht, The
Netherlands
bSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada více
26.1.2016 Tryptophan treatment of aggressive psychiatric inpatients. 
Volavka J, Crowner
M, Brizer
D, Convit
A, Van
Praag H, Suckow
RF.
Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New
York 10962.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study tested the
effectiveness of tryptophan (TRP) in the treatment of aggressive
psychiatric inpatients. After a baseline observation period of 1
month, patients were randomly assigned to treatment either with TRP
(up to 6 g/day) or with placebo. There were 10 subjects in each
treatment group. These treatments were administered for 25-35 days,
after which the patients were observed for 1 month. Throughout this
study, patients were receiving other medications. Injections of
antipsychotics and sedatives were administered as needed to control
agitated or violent behavior. Blood levels of TRP and other large
neutral amino acids were obtained repeatedly, and ratios between
TRP and other amino acids were computed. These analyses confirmed
significant increases of TRP ratios in TRP-treated patients. TRP
treatment had no effect on the number of violent incidents, but it
significantly reduced the need for injections of antipsychotics and
sedatives. The study thus provided indirect support for beneficial
effects of TRP in aggressive psychiatric inpatients. více
