• DOI:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb28055.x
• Corpus ID: 31060283

Antinociceptive Properties of Pyridoxine

@article{Zimmermann1990AntinociceptivePO,
  title={Antinociceptive Properties of Pyridoxine},
  author={Manfred Zimmermann and Gerd D. Bartoszyk and Dieter Bonke and Ilmar Jurna and A. Wild},
  journal={Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences},
  year={1990},
  volume={585}
}

• M. Zimmermann, G. Bartoszyk, +2 authors A. Wild
• Published 1 May 1990
• Medicine, Biology
• Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

It is well established that pyridoxine and other B vitamins are essential for normal function of the nervous system, as experimental or pathological deficiency of B vitamins induces neurological abnormalities in man and other mammals,’-3 including severe chronic pain and other neurological sequelae. The neurological symptoms including pain usually are reversed by supplementation of B vitamins in the diet. However, clinical observations and controlled trials indicate that supply of pyridoxine and other B vitamins beyond the recommended nutritional requirements may be of benefit to patients with chronic pain, vertigo, or other neurological diseases”’ even if they do not suffer from an obvious deficiency in B vitamins. In particular, the pain relief obtained with antiinflammatory drugs such as diclofenac was enhanced when B vitamins were simultaneously given in patients with low back pain.* These therapeutical benefits of B vitamins have prompted us to search for the mechanisms of analgesic actions. This article will present some recent neurophysiological and behavioral pharmacological evidence from animal experiments supporting the notion that vitamin B,, that is, pyridoxine, has an antinociceptive potency in animals. The experiments were performed independently a t three different laboratories, a t the Saar University in Homburg, a t Heidelberg University, and in the laboratories of E. Merck a t Darmstadt. W e use the terms “nociception” and “antinociception” instead of “pain” and “analgesia” to denote the animal experiments using experimental noxious stimuli of short duration. Pyridoxine was given systemically in single doses. Therefore, high dose levels might be required to observe an antinociceptive effect, in comparison to the situation of repeated drug administration for an extended period of time as used clinically.