Vitamins for Peripheral Neuropathy

Historical Perspective for Vitamins For Peripheral Neuropathy

For over a hundred years, physicians have realized there is a relationship between nutrition and some types of neuropathy. In 1897, Dr. Eijkman cured the disease in pigeons by feeding them the nutrient-rich rice husks that were stripped from the polished rice produced by the grain mills of the time.

Over the last one hundred years, there have been outbreaks of nutritional neuropathy in World War II prisoner-of-war camps, Jamaican sugar-cane plantations, and Cuba following the collapse of Soviet food support in the 1990s.

Physiology of Nutritional Neuropathy

Nutritional neuropathies occur in 2 forms: an isolated deficiency (usually of a B vitamin) or a complex deficiency resulting from several concurrent metabolic disorders (usually including malabsorption). So Vitamins For Peripheral Neuropathy can make a difference.

Causes of Nutritional Neuropathy

• Alcohol - can lead to malabsorption of nutrients. Extreme alcohol use can affect the nerve cells and their composition.
• Thiamine Deficiency
• Niacin Deficiency
• Pyridoxine deficiency and excess
• Cyanocobalamin deficiency
• Pantothenic acid deficiency
• Alpha-tocopherol deficiency
• Gluten-sensitivity neuropathy (celiac disease)

Numbers

About 10,000,000 (4%) Americans are dependent on alcohol. Because of this, alcohol is the most common cause of deficiency neuropathy. About 9-30% of people with alcoholism have clinically evident neuropathy, and more than 90% have electrophysiological evidence of neuropathy.

Treatment

Treatment will depend on which type of nutritional neuropathy you suffer from. There has been great success with vitamin supplements and changes to diet. Your physician can help you determine the best course of action.