B Complex Aids Alcohol-Related Nerve Dsyfunction

LONDON--Providing B vitamins to patients with signs of alcohol-related polyneuropathy--a neurological disorder involving dysfunction of the peripheral nerves--safely reduces symptoms. In a multi-center, double blind, placebo-controlled study, 325 patients with symptoms of alcoholic polyneuropathy received one of three treatments. The first was BEFACT® Forte with vitamins B1, B2, B6 and B12; the second, a "new formulation" of BEFACT® Forte with folic acid; and the third was a placebo treatment. Patients received oral pills three times daily over a 12-week treatment period.

At the end of the intervention, patients treated with either BEFACT formulation showed significant improvement in vibration perception threshold, pain intensity, sensory function and reflex responses compared to placebo. The addition of folic acid did not appear to increase the value of the treatment. The study was coordinated out of Kings College, London, and published online Aug. 21 in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism (DOI:10.1093/alcalc/agl058).