Anxiety is a complex construct involving a variety of disorders. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-IV-TR, defines general anxiety as fear when there is nothing to fear in reality. As a category, anxiety disorders include post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias and panic. Given the wide breadth of this disease, scientists are always looking for nutrients, including pyridoxine hydrocholoride, that may play a role in the development or treatment of anxiety disorders.
What Is Pyridoxine Hydrochloride?
Pyridoxine hydrochloride is the scientific name for vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is a coenzyme found in carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids. The chemical is stored in various places in the human body, including the brain, muscles and liver. People can have deficiencies based on birth defects, but sometimes certain drugs and medications such as some kinds of birth control pills also lead to deficits. The main issues associated with vitamin B6 deficiency are nervousness, irritability and weakness. Given these effects, which are reminiscent of anxiety, researchers are interested in the relationship between various anxiety disorders and vitamin B6.
Vitamin B6, Magnesium and Anxiety
Vitamin B6, or pyridoxine hydrochloride, has been related to magnesium deficiency and anxiety. To further assess this relationship, researchers in Russia fed a group of rats a magnesium deficient diet for over a month. When these rats were tested, they showed mood disturbance and psychomotor agitation. The same rats were then treated with magnesium and vitamin B6, and retested on similar behavioral measures. The results, which were published in a 2008 edition of a Russia medical journal, showed that the treatment of vitamin B6 and magnesium resulted in a decrease in depression and anxiety.
Psychosis, Anxiety and Depression
Schizoaffective patients suffer from psychosis combined with depression and anxiety. In 2002 researchers in Israel examined the viability of vitamin B6 as a treatment for the affective, or mood-related, component of schizoaffective disorder. The study consisted of treating a group of 15 patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders with vitamin B6 supplements. The results were published in 2002 in the "Journal of Clinical Psychiatry" and revealed no significant difference between mental status changes in the treatment group versus placebo group. The researchers suggest that larger studies are needed to better understand the role of B6 in depression, anxiety and psychosis.
Putting It All Together
At the time of this publication in July 2011, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved pyridoxine hydrocholoride as a treatment for any type of anxiety disorder. Certainly, research has shown a link between nutrition and mood, but the addition of vitamin B6 to a treatment regimen should be discussed with a medical professional. Though vitamins many times are safe and effective for general health, drug interactions should be checked out before starting.
References
- "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition"; The American Psychiatric Association; 1994
- "Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova"; Depression-like and Anxiety-related Behavior of Rats Fed With Magnesium-deficient Diet; A.A. Spasov, et al.; 2008
- "Journal of Clinical Psychiatry"; Vitamin B6 as Add-on Treatment in Chronic Schizophrenic and Schizoaffective Patients: A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study; V. Learner, et al.; 2002
