Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a naturally occurring compound that is found in cell membranes. It is often bound to DHA and EPA, omega 3 fatty acids that have been shown to be possibly effective in treating ADHD. Some people even claim PS by itself is an effective treatment for ADHD. But how effective is it really? And are there pitfalls to avoid?
Effectiveness
Phosphatidylserine has been evaluated in two double blinded, placebo controlled studies. One of these studies involved 36 children, the other involved 200 children, but the PS was given with DHA/EPA. Before these studies, another trial involving PS chemically attached to DHA/EPA was tested in a randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled trial involving 83 children, which showed that the PS seemed to help ADHD, more so than fish oil alone, although the number of children in each arm of the study was small.
From these trials it is not possible to conclude that PS is effective when given without DHA/EPA for ADHD, or that PS makes DHA/EPA more effective. However, the results are promising the PS either given with DHA/EPA or given bound to DHA/EPA may possibly help with ADHD symptoms.
Pitfalls
Unfortunately, although it occurs naturally, taking PS is not without risk. PS is found in many natural sources, but the ones studied in many of the clinical trials were derived from cow brains, which carry a very small risk of mad cow disease. Mad cow disease, or Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, as it is called in humans, is a condition in which the brain develops holes in itself due to a contagious agent called a prion. Affected patients develop rapidly progressive dementia and other neurological symptoms, and eventually die. Prions are impossible to disinfect by cooking.
There are other sources of PS. Soy lecithin is one very safe PS rich food additive. In case you were wondering, the amount of soy lecithin found in most highly processed food is not a significant source of PS. Other sources of dietary PS are certain types of fish (mackerel, herring) and offal (kidneys, for example). Sunflower lecithin is also available. However, the other components in cow brain PS may be important in treating ADHD symptoms, so it is possible that taking PS from other sources may not be effective.
What to do
PS by itself is generally recognized as safe by the FDA, so there is little harm in trying PS, as long as it is not from a cow. Because PS is generally used with omega 3 fatty acids in clinical trials, it would be a good idea to use both at the same time. They occur together in the brain, so it seems likely that giving them together might be necessary for them to work. Vayarin, a prescription medical food, contains both components. However, it may contain phosphatidylserine from cow brains.
There is no hard and fast rule for how long to give PS to see it work. Omega 3 fatty acids typically can take several weeks (6-8) to see an effect, so it would seem reasonable to give a trial of at least that long. If it is not working after 4 months, chances are it will not. It is safe to stop taking PS suddenly without a taper if it isn't working for you or if you think you are experiencing side effects.
References:
Hirayama, S., K. Terasawa, R. Rabeler, T. Hirayama, T. Inoue, Y. Tatsumi, M. Purpura, and R. Jager. "The Effect of Phosphatidylserine Administration on Memory and Symptoms of Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial." Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Supp.2 (2014): 284-91.
Manor, I., A. Magen, D. Keidar, S. Rosen, H. Tasker, T. Cohen, Y. Richter, D. Zaroor-Regev, Y. Manor, and A. Weizman. "The Effect of Phosphatidylserine Containing Omega3 Fatty-acids on Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Children: A Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial, Followed by an Open-label Extension." European Psychiatry 27.5 (2012): 335-42.
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