Some evidence seen for therapeutic effect for post-herpetic neuralgia and treatment of painful peripheral neuropathy

Vitamin B12 supplementation is beneficial for post-herpetic neuralgia and painful peripheral neuropathy, according to a systematic review published July 25, 2020, in Nutrients.

Thomas Julian, from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, and colleagues reviewed the evidence for Vitamin B12 as a drug treatment for neuropathic pain. Data were included from 24 published articles in which a range of treatment regimens were evaluated, including both B12 monotherapy and B12 in combination with other vitamins or conventional treatments.

The researchers found some evidence for the therapeutic effect of B12 on post-herpetic neuralgia and the treatment of painful peripheral neuropathy (level II and level III evidence, respectively). When examining peripheral neuropathy of specific etiologies, the same level of evidence applied to diabetic polyneuropathy and alcoholic neuropathy.

On the basis of the available evidence, the areas of strongest research supporting the use of treatments inclusive of B12 are post-herpetic neuralgia, alcohol-related neuropathy and diabetic neuropathy, but these areas along with pain caused by peripheral neuropathy of other causes, require further exploration. Currently, there are no areas in which B12 is strongly disproven.

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