China: Decreased levels of serum vitamin B12 are associated independently with narcolepsy development, reveals a recent study in the journal Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. Since deficiency of Vitamin B12 is a preventable and treatable disease and should be considered in narcolepsy patients.
Narcolepsy can be defined as a chronic sleep disorder related to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep paralysis, cataplexy attacks, and hypnagogic hallucinations. Vitamin B12 (also known as cobalamin) is a water-soluble vitamin that belongs to the vitamin B family. However, there is no clarity on whether changes in the serum vitamin B12 levels are involved in the pathophysiological mechanism of narcolepsy.
Considering the above, Hongju Zhang, University People's Hospital; Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China, and colleagues aimed to assess whether vitamin B12 levels are independently related to the occurrence of narcolepsy.
For this purpose, the researchers retrospectively analyzed serum folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels of 40 narcolepsy patients and 40 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC). A multiple logistic regression model was constructed according to the results of the univariate logistic analysis to predict the independent influencing indicators.
Based on the study, the researchers found the following:
Serum folic acid and vitamin B12 levels in the narcolepsy group were significantly reduced.
Through the sex subgroup, males in the narcolepsy group had lower serum vitamin B12 levels.
Multivariate logistic regression revealed serum vitamin B12 to be independently associated with narcolepsy (odds ratio=0.97).
"Decreased serum vitamin B12 levels are independently associated with the development of narcolepsy, illustrating the complex relationship between vitamin B12 and narcolepsy," wrote the authors. "The findings provide in vivo evidence of the role of vitamin B12 in the narcolepsy pathogenesis."
"However, there is a need for future studies to explore whether vitamin B12 supplementation can improve the symptoms of patients," they concluded.
Reference:
The study titled, "Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with narcolepsy," was published in the journal Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.107097