Vitamin premenstrual syndrome

Despite its considerable involvement in metabolic processes, no specific deficiency syndrome in humans has been attributed to vitamin B6 (19,103). A considerable number of nonvitamin functions have been suggested, but they remain controversial (102,103,108-111). These include roles in coronary heart disease, immune response, premenstrual syndrome, sickle-cell anaemia, asthma, autism, gestational diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome, and cancer. 

Estrogens cause abnormalities of tryptophan metabolism that resemble those seen in vitamin Be deficiency, and the vitamin is widely used to treat the side effects of estrogen administration and estrogen-associated symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome, although there is litde evidence of its efficacy. High doses of the vitamin, of the order of 100 times requirements, cause peripheral sensory neuropathy. 

Studies during the 1960s showing thatvitaminBg supplements were effective in overcoming some of the side effects of (high-dose) oral contraceptives have led to the use of vitamin Bg in treatment of the premenstrual syndrome - the condition of nervousness, irritability, emotional disturbance, headache, and/or depression suffered by many women for up to 10 days before menstruation. 

Kleijnen J, Ter Riet G, and Knipschild P (1990) Vitamin Be in the treatment of the premenstrual syndrome-a review. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 97, 847-52. 

V tt KM, Dimmock PW, Jones PW, and Shaughn O Brien PM (1999) Efficacy of vitamin B-6 in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome systematic review. British Medical Journal 318, 1375-81. 

Under the headline Still time for rational debate about vitamin Bs the controversial debate on the safety of pyridoxine has been revived (8). Pyridoxine is marketed for stress in general, for depression associated with premenstrual syndrome and oral contraceptives, and for carpal tunnel syndrome, although it is doubtful that it has more than a placebo effect. It is legitimately prescribed in general deficiency states in doses starting at 150 mg/day. Adverse events include sensory neuropathy at oral doses about 2-3 g/day or more. 

Vitamin B complex is the collective term for a number of water-soluble vitamins found particularly in dairy products, cereals and liver.Vitamin B (thiamine) is used by mouth for dietary supplement purposes and by injection in emergency treatment of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is a constituent of the coenzyme FAD (flavine adenine dinucleotide) and FMN (flavine mononucleotide) and is therefore important in cellular respiration. Vitamin Be (pyridoxine) is a coenzyme for decarboxylases and transamination, and is concerned with many metabolic processes. Overdose causes peripheral neuropathy. It may be used medically for vomiting and radiation sickness and for premenstrual tension. Pyridoxine has a negative interaction with the therapeutic use of levodopa in parkinsonism by enhancing levodopa decarboxylation to dopamine in the periphery, which does not then reach the brain. The antitubercular drug isoniazid interferes with pyridoxine, and causes a deficiency leading to peripheral neuritis that may need to be corrected with dietary supplements. Vitamin B ... 

Calcium and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Dr. Susan Thys-Jacobs, a gynecologist at St. Luke s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City and colleagues at eleven other medical centers are conducting a study of calcium s ability to relieve the discomfort of PMS. They believe that women with chronic PMS have calcium blood levels that are normal only because calcium is continually being removed from the bone to maintain an adequate supply in the blood. To complicate the situation, vitamin D levels in many young women are very low (as much as 80% of a person s vitamin D is made in the skin, upon exposure to sunlight many of us now minimize our exposure to the sun because of concerns about ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer). Because vitamin D plays an essential role in calcium metabolism, even if sufficient calcium is consumed, it may not be used efficiently in the body. 

Recently, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on vitamin supplements to combat stress, prevent the common cold, protect against various kinds of cancer and heart disease, offset the s)mptoms of premenstrual syndrome, delay the aging process, and improve one s sex life Most nutritionists believe that a well-balanced diet provides all the nutrients, including the vitamins, required by the body. Indeed, when associations such as the American Cancer Society suggest that certain vitamins might help prevent cancers, they recommend that they be obtained from the natmal food sources, rather than from vitamin supplements. 

Because vitamin B5 is a water-soluble vitamin, we would expect that the ingestion of excessive amounts would result simply in the excretion of the excess. However, excess vitamin B5 (50-100 times the RDA) taken to reduce the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome has resulted in peripheral neuropathy in several young women. This is characterized by a numbness in the limbs and a clumsy, stumbling walk. 

Vitamin. Bg helps in the production of serotonin from the amino acid known as L-tryptophan. Some research suggests that B6 might help address premenstrual syndrome (PMS), autism, and some seizure disorders, as well as help prevent many chronic diseases associated with inflammation. A study also found that supplementation helped antidepressants work better in an elderly population who also had cognitive dysfunction. I recommend 10 to 50 mg twice a day of the pyridoxal-5-phosphate (or pyridoxine ), the active form of Bg. Ideally, you should take the dosage between meals, but if it causes nausea, take it with food. Be careful not to exceed the recommended dose, particularly because doses over 300 mg daily may lead to peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the hands and feet). 

L-Tryptophan is one of the essential amino acids in animals. In addition, it is the biosynthetic precursor to other important molecules such as serotonin (thus, melatonin) and niacin. Until 1989, L-Tryptophan was sold singly over-the-counter and as a constituent in dietary supplement combinations. One of several effects that ingesting L-tryptophan has on the body is an increase in serotonin levels. Partly because of this, L-tryptophan supplements commonly were used to treat premenstrual syndrome, as a sleep aid and as a natural antidepressant [8] (http //www. webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-326-L-TRYPTOPHAN.aspx activebigredientId=326 activeIngredientName=L-TRYPTOPHAN source=3). 

Moderate pharmacologic doses of vitamin E (150 lU/d) improved some of the psychoneurologic accompaniments of the premenstrual syndrome (London et al, 1983). But there is no known role of vitamin E in cognition. 

Riboflavin in its coenzyme forms (FMN and FAD) plays key metabolic roles in biological oxidation-reduction reactions involving carbohydrates, amino acids and lipids, and in energy production via the respiratory chain. These coenzymes also act in cellular metabolism of other water-soluble vitamins through the production and activation of folate and pyridoxine (vitamin Bg) to their respective coenzyme forms and in the synthesis of niacin (vitamin B3) from tryptophan. In addition, some neurotransmitters and other amines require FAD for their metabolism. Recently, Chocano-Bedoya et al. (2011) suggested a possible benefit of high intakes of riboflavin (about 2.5 mg/ day) from food sources on the reduction of incidence of premenstrual syndrome. 

Chocano-Bedoya, P.O., Manson, J.E., Hankinson, S.E., Willet, W.C., Johnson, S.R., Chasan-Taber, L., Ronnenberg, A.G., Bigelow, C., and Bertone-Johnson, E.R., 2011. Dietary B vitamin intake and incident premenstrual syndrome. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 93 1080-1086. 

RM SaUceld, H Gerster. Premenstrual syndrome a role for vitamin B-6. Gynaecol Pract 5 10-16, 1988. 

H van den Berg, ES Louwerse, HW Bruinse, JTNM Thissen, J Schrijver. Vitamin B status of women suffering from premenstrual syndrome. Hum Nutr Clin Nutr 40 441 50, 1986. 

Supplements of vitamin Bg ranging from 25 to 500mg/day, and sometimes higher, have been recommended for treatment of a variety of conditions in which there is an underlying physiological or biochemical mechanism to justify the use of supplements, although in most cases there is little evidence of efficacy. Such conditions include postnatal depression, depression and other side effects associated with oral contraceptives, hyperemesis of pregnancy, and the premenstrual syndrome. 

The studies showing a beneficial action of vitamin Bg in overcoming depression associated with oral contraceptives have led to the use of the vitamin in depression and other pathology associated with endogenous estrogens in the premenstrual syndrome. There is no evidence of poorer vitamin Bg nutritional status in women who suffer from the premenstrual syndrome. 

There are few well-controlled studies of the effects of vitamin Bg in premenstrual syndrome. In general, those that have been properly controlled report little benefit from doses between 50 and 200 mg per day compared with placebo, although some studies do claim a beneficial effect. Interestingly, meta-analysis of controlled crossover trials shows that whichever treatment is used second, active vitamin or placebo, is (marginally) more effective. There is no obvious explanation for this observation. 

Despite the lack of evidence of efficacy, vitamin Bg is widely prescribed (and self-prescribed) for the treatment of premenstrual syndrome. 

---