Benfotiamine is a nonprescription, synthetic derivative of thiamine, a B vitamin which serves important roles in the body of breaking down dietary sugars and promoting nerve health. Benfotiamine may help treat foot pain caused by a complication of diabetes called neuropathy. However, as benfotiamine is only sold in the United States as a dietary supplement, and evidence supporting the use of benfotiamine to treat neuropathic pain is limited, do not replace your conventional medical treatment with benfotiamine without consulting your doctor.
Neuropathy and Foot Pain
Neuropathy can refer to several types of nerve disorders which can cause pain, numbness and tingling sensations throughout the body but particularly in the extremities. Foot pain is often the first and most pronounced symptom of neuropathy. Neuropathy is common to people with diabetes, although other conditions, such as alcoholism and toxin exposure, can also cause neuropathic pain. In diabetes, neuropathy is thought to be caused by prolonged nerve exposure to high blood sugar, while in alcoholism neuropathy may result from nutritional deficiencies. There are several types of neuropathy, including peripheral neuropathy, the most common type of diabetic neuropathy which frequently causes pain in the feet.
Benfotiamine and Neuropathic Pain
Several clinical studies have concluded that the drug benfotiamine may be useful in treating neuropathic pain. These include a double blind, placebo-controlled study using diabetic subjects published in the journal Experimental and Clinical Endocrinololgy & Diabetes in 2008; an animal study that appeared in the European Journal of Pharmacology in 2006; and an 8-week randomized controlled study published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism which used subjects with neuropathic pain caused by alcoholism. The 2008 diabetes study concluded that benfotiamine may help treat diabetic neuropathy due to its effects on blood glucose metabolism. Correcting a thiamine deficiency may help treat symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy, as deficient status in this vitamin may contribute to the condition.
Other Therapeutic Effects
According to a 2010 article published in the journal Pharmacological Research, benfotiamine supplementation may also help treat other complications of diabetes, in addition to diabetic neuropathy. Benfotiamine's function of reducing levels of harmful byproducts caused by high blood sugar in the body's tissues may help treat or slow the progression of several diabetes-associated complications, including neuropathy, as well as diabetes-related retina and kidney damage.
Conventional Treatments
While benfotiamine has shown some promise for treating neuropathy in experimental research, doctors usually prescribe oral prescription medications to treat painful neuropathy caused by diabetes or alcoholism. Conventional medications commonly prescribed to treat diabetes- and alcoholism-related foot pain include tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants. Diabetics with neuropathic pain may also be prescribed opioids or topical lidocaine patches that are applied directly to the feet.
Considerations
Although several studies suggest that benfotiamine may help relieve foot pain caused by neuropathy, there remains insufficient evidence to determine whether benfotiamine or other types of B vitamins are more effective in treating neuropathy than placebos, conventional treatments, or other complementary treatments for neuropathy. Additionally, while benfotiamine is classified as a prescription drug in some European countries, in the United States it is only available as a dietary supplement, which means it is not regulated by the FDA for safety or efficacy. Therefore, it is important to consult with a health professional before using benfotiamine in place of conventional treatment for neuropathic pain.
References
- PubMed.gov: Benfotiamine in Diabetic Polyneuropathy
- PubMed.gove: Benfotiamine Relieves Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain in Rats
- PubMed.gov: Benfotiamine in Treatment of Alcoholic Polyneuropathy
- PubMed.gov: Vitamin B for Treating Peripheral Neuropathy
- "Life Extension Magazine"; Benfotiamine: European Supplement Protects Against Diabetic Complications
