Research: Pyridoxal Phosphate is Better than Pyridoxine for Controlling Idiopathic Intractable Epilepsy

Authored by Wang, HS, Kuo MF, Chou ML, Hung PC, Lin KL, Hsieh MY, and Chang MY in Arch Dis Child., Volume 90, Issue 5, p. 512-515, (2005).

Article summary (posted Oct 21, 2006):

This article reports that certain types of epilepsy can be controlled with vitamin B6 supplementation, and may be even better controlled with PLP supplementation.

It is known that vitamin B6 can help reduce the seizures of children with epilepsy. The authors of this article wanted to determine whether supplementation with PLP, the active form of vitamin B6, would work even better than supplementation with vitamin B6. This study focused on 94 children with severe idiopathic epilepsy (8 months to 15 years old). These children received PLP intravenously. In eleven patients, seizures stopped after PLP treatment, and in these patients, vitamin B6 supplements (50 mg/kg body weight per day, or about 909 mg for a 40-pound child) were used instead of intravenous PLP. After the switch to vitamin B6, six of the eleven patients were still free of seizures. No significant side effects were observed. The authors note that it is not yet known why some children with epilepsy respond to vitamin B6 or PLP treatment.

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You can access the original abstract and the complete paper is sometimes available for free via Google Scholar (look for entries that say "PDF" or "HTML" on the right side of the page).
adverse effects, epilepsy, idiopathic, intravenous (IV), seizures, supplements, treatment, vitamin, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
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