Vitamin status of inpatients with chronic cephalgia and dysfunction pain syndrome and effects of a vitamin supplementation

Abstract

66 female inpatients with dysfunction pain syndrome, chronic cephalgia and facial pain participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind study, half the patients receiving a multivitamin preparation for 12 days and the other half a placebo. The biochemically determined vitamin status at the start of the study revealed gaps in the coverage of the vitamin supply, particularly with regard to the vitamins thiamin, riboflavin and folic acid. 65% of the patients showed a subclinical vitamin deficiency of two or more vitamins. With regard to the development of pain during the study no statistically significant differences could be determined, however, between the active-treatment and placebo groups. Nevertheless, a clear reduction in pain was more frequently observed in the active-treatment group, and a deterioration of pain more frequently in the placebo group. A reduction in pain was reported more often by patients in whom the values of alpha-ETK, alpha-EGOT, folic acid and cyanocobalamin improved in the course of the study. Vitamin administration in physiological doses evidently have only weak effects on the behavior of pain; analgesic vitamin effects may be presumed in the case of correspondingly high therapeutic doses for a prolonged period.