Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 and homocysteine (Hcy):

Human studies have found that homocysteine (Hcy), an amino acid, at a mild to moderately elevated level is associated with the an elevated risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, cognitive impairment or stroke. Numerous studies in recent years investigated the role of Hcy as a cause of brain damage. A meta-analysis of 8 randomized treatment trials (n=37,485) looking at the link between B-vitamins (folic acid, vitamin B6 and/or B12) and risk of stroke, cancer, and vascular diseases found a non-significant decrease in the risk of stroke from B-vitamins. In a separate study, stroke risk was reduced after 3 years of treatment. Patients with no history of stroke and not taking folic acid reported a 25% decrease in the risk of stroke and a decrease in Hcy of 20% or more was associated with a 23% decrease in stroke risk. In studies of folic acid and stroke risk, folic acid was found to have a slight benefit, but the results were not significant. Results were better when folic acid was tested in combination with other vitamins (B6 and B12), though still not major. (3)