How Does Vitamin B12 Help Fibromyalgia?
An interesting point to note is that widepsread pain is not characteristic to vitamin B12 Deficiency. This is perhaps why vitamin b12 deficiency is not thought to be a cause of fibromyalgia. However, it is evident that vitamin B12 can help reduce fibromyalgia symptoms and increase health-related quality of life.
In a study conducted in 1997, by Sweden's Goteborg University's Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, 12 patients suffering from chronic pain illnesses such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome were found to have neligible vitamin B12 in their cerebrospinal fluid which is responsible for providing fundamental mechanical and immunological protection to the brain. Instead, researchers found high amounts of homocysteine, an amino acid which is harmful to the health of nerves and blood vessels, in the cerebrospinal fluid of the subjects. Interestingly, the blood test of the participants showed normal levels of vitamin B12.
In another study published in the 2015, the same group of researchers revisited the relationship between vitamin B12 and fibromyalgia with the aim of investigating the effect of a therapy combining vitamin B12 and folic acid on fibromyalgia patients. The results suggest that patients who were given higher weekly doses of vitamin B12 and higher daily doses of oral folic acid were able to see more significant improvement in their health and reported less pain. This group who received higher doses of the therapy were also able to discontinue the use of analgesic painkiller.
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