Are There Any Controversies About B6?

There are several controversies about the use of vitamin B6, after some studies have been done concerning the relationship of vitamin B6 and many neurological conditions. These conditions include disease that cause seizures, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, headaches and depression.

There are studies that have shown that depression and headaches often occur in patients that have lower levels of serotonin. Alcoholism is another of these where the neuropathy is abnormal and can cause numbing or sensations in the arms and legs. This is often attributed to a poor diet, with a decreased food intake; vitamin B6 has proven effective for the decrease of these sensations in the extremities.

Anti Tuberculosis medications such as isoniazid and cycloserine have been proven to lower the amount of vitamin B6 the body has to use in the blood. Where the use of vitamin B6 has been proven to reduce the therapeutic value of the Parkinson’s disease named levodopa. One of the treatments for rheumoatoid arthritis and also used for Wilson’s disease named penicillamine decrease the level of vitamin B6 and can even cause to be it useless.

The high blood pressure medication hydralazine can be diminished in effectiveness by vitamin B6. It has been proven in studies that the long term use of birth control medication can decrease the amount of vitamin B6 in the blood levels, as well as the use of medication used to treat depression. These medications are monoamoine exidase inhibitors that have been proven to reduce the blood levels of vitamin B6 in some patents.