Vitamin B-6 may help to prevent seizures in infants and adults, but this doesn't mean you should self-medicate with a combination vitamin B complex supplement. B vitamin complex includes a variety of B vitamins in wildly varying amounts, depending on the brand and type you choose. Taking B vitamin complex may produce serious side effects, so talk to your doctor before using it for any reason.
Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B complex supplements may contain up to eight B vitamins: B-1, thiamine; B-2, riboflavin; B-3 niacin; B-5, pantothenic acid, B-6, pyridoxine; B-7, biotin; B-9, folate, and B-12, cobalamin. If you obtain the B vitamins from your diet, the vitamins work together to improve the function of your liver and nervous system, help you metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins and maintain the health of your hair, skin and eyes. Stand-alone vitamin B supplements may treat certain medical conditions -- B-2 to prevent migraine headaches, for example -- and taking B complex may help to treat multiple B vitamin deficiencies. But no evidence suggests that B vitamin complex will prevent or lessen the severity of seizures.
Seizures and B-6
One B vitamin -- B-6 -- may prove helpful in preventing some types of seizures. Pyridoxine-dependent seizures, a type of epilepsy, may develop in infants shortly after -- or even before -- birth. This type of epilepsy does not respond to traditional anticonvulsant medication. But large doses of pyridoxine -- B-6 -- may prevent seizures and possible brain impairment if given intravenously to infants with pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy. Persons who drink alcohol to excess may suffer from B-6 deficiencies and seizures. Taking vitamin B-6 is effective for treating deficiencies and may help to prevent deficiency-related seizures.
Study
A.T. Gerlach and colleagues at Ohio State University Medical Center tested the effects of vitamin B-6 on refractory seizures in adults. The small study included three men who suffered seizures. Two were dependent on alcohol, and the third had a hepatitis C infection. None of the men responded to antiepileptic treatment but all improved after taking vitamin B-6 supplements, according to the report published in the March 2011 edition of the "Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition." Vitamin B-6 deficiency is rare in adults, but it should be considered when other treatments for seizures fail, according to the authors.
Side Effects
If you're not deficient in vitamin B-6, taking it in a stand-alone or complex formula may prove unsafe. You could develop nerve and brain problems if you take B-6 in doses higher than you need. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin B-6 ranges from 1.3 mg to 2.0 mg daily. Therapeutic doses to relieve deficiencies may include up to 30 mg of B-6. To prevent side effects, your doctor may drop your dose to 2.5 mg after a few weeks. If you take vitamin B complex, possible side effects -- in addition to nerve and brain damage from vitamin B-6 --include diarrhea, vomiting, stomach ulcers, gout, liver damage, irregular heartbeat, headaches and vision loss.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin B3 (Niacin); June 18, 2009
- Medline Plus: Thiamine (Vitamin B1); May 9, 2011
- Medline Plus; Riboflavin (Vitamin B2);Nov. 19, 2010
- Medline Plus:Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5); Nov. 19, 2010
- Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health: Vitamin B6
- "Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition"; Vitamin B6 Deficiency: A Potential Cause of Refractory Seizures in Adults; A.T. Gerlach et al; March 2011
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