TREATMENT DATABASE

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine), is involved in more than one hundred essential chemical reactions in the body, including making amino acids and neurotransmitters, metabolizing energy, balancing hormones, and supporting the immune system. High doses of B6 have been shown to decrease colorectal cancer rates. Vitamin B6 is also used to prevent heart disease by lowering cholesterol, to treat the nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness, and, because of its importance in nervous system function, to treat various CNS conditions, including depression, schizophrenia, and ADD.

USES IN ME/CFS. A study published in 1999 by a group of British researchers found that ME/CFS patients had reduced functional status of B vitamins, particularly B6. Because B6 is vital to so many neuroendocrine reactions, a deficiency can result in impaired sleep (due to B6's role in converting glutamate to GABA), hypoglycemia (due to the role of B6 in neoglucogenesis), and neuropathy (damage to the peripheral nervous system). A classic sign of vitamin B6 deficiency is skin eruptions resembling seborrheic dermatitis, a common symptom in acute stages of ME/CFS. Patients have found that B6 is useful for treating pain, especially carpal tunnel syndrome.

Treatment rating for Vitamin B6