Vitamin B6 supplementation lowers inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients!

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The September, 2010 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported a trial conducted by researchers in Taiwan which found an anti-inflammatory benefit for pyridoxine (vitamin B6) supplementation in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Dr Y-C Huang of Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung and colleagues randomized 35 adults with rheumatoid arthritis to receive 5 milligrams per day folic acid or 5 milligrams folic acid plus 100 milligrams vitamin B6 for 12 weeks. (Seventy-four percent of the participants were being treated with methotrexate, the standard treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, which interferes with folate metabolism.) Blood samples obtained from the subjects at the beginning and end of the study were analyzed for plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP, the active form of vitamin B6), serum folate, immune parameters, and factors involved in inflammation, including C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a).

At the end of the twelve weeks, interleukin-6 and TNF-a were decreased among those who received supplemental vitamin B6. Higher plasma interleukin-6 levels were related to reduced levels of plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. No significant effect on immune parameters was observed. Read More...