Vitamin B combination effective among neuropathy patients, study shows

A recently published study backs the effectiveness of a combined dose of Vitamins B1, B6 and B12 in reducing symptoms among peripheral neuropathy sufferers, independently from the cause of the neuropathy.

“Neuropathy is a disease that affects the nervous system, and the most common symptoms are numbness and pain. Many people suffer from neuropathy, but is under-diagnosed. It is undertreated. It is a chronic condition and the patient only comes to the doctor when he is already in the advanced stage, which is more difficult to treat,” said Dr. Rizaldy Pinzon, a Filipino-Indonesian neurologist who is one of the authors of the study “Management of peripheral neuropathy symptoms with the fixed dose combination of high-dose vitamin B1, B6 and B12: A 12-week prospective non interventional study in Indonesia.” The study appeared in the Asian Journal of Medical Sciences last January and was presented at Merck’s NENOIN (Neurobion Non-interventional) Symposium recently.

A very important part of the nervous system, nerves enable impulses of motion and sensation across the brain, spinal cord and other parts of the body. Peripheral neuropathy affects the nerves by preventing them from transmitting information.

The common disorder affects millions of people worldwide and can cause body discomforts, including paresthesia (usually a painless sensation like tingling or itching often felt in the arms and feet), increased or decreased sensitivity to vibration, hot or cold feeling, numbness, muscle weakness and burning pain. Peripheral neuropathy is most common among the elderly and patients with diabetes.

Pinzon and his team’s study promises a major step forward for nerve health by demonstrating an effective treatment that relieves the following neuropathy symptoms: stabbing pain, burning pain, numbness and paresthesia.

The study not only focused on neuropathic patients with diabetes but also those with other types of neuropathy. Most of the subjects had mild to moderate neuropathy. The study observed symptom reduction after 90 days, “while observing the quality of life of the patients and assuring their safety,” Pinzon said.

The sample size included more than 400 subjects, representing multiple ethnicities in Indonesia. Seventy percent were female and more than half were above 40 years old.

The study gave each patient a tablet of Neurobion Forte once daily, which had a fixed dose combination of 100-milligram Vitamin B1, 100-milligram Vitamin B6 and 5,000-microgram (five-milligram) B12.

After being treated with the high-dose combination for three months, the study showed improvement and reduction of symptoms by 62.9 percent – more than 50 percent reduction on the baseline symptom.

“Fixed dose combination is effective and safe in patients with mild to moderate neuropathy,” Pinzon said.