TITLE:
Serum Vitamin B6 Levels in Hemodialyzed Patients
AUTHORS:
Konstantinos S. Mavromatidis, Irini M. Kalogiannidou, Pelagia A. Kriki, Emine S. Impis, Ploumis S. Passadakis
KEYWORDS:
Vitamin B6 Deficiency, Conventional Hemodialysis, Online Hemodiafiltration, Pyridoxal 5'-Phosphate
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.14 No.9,
September
8,
2026
ABSTRACT: Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble molecule that serves as a coenzyme in many biochemical reactions, but mainly in the metabolism of proteins. It is found in many dietary sources and its stored quantities in the body are exhausted in 3 - 4 months. Among the people who can develop B6 deficiency are those on hemodialysis (it is lost during cooking and during the dialysis session). Due to the lack of drug with the B6 complex in our country, our patients did not take B6 in any form. The serum B6 levels of 46 (26M/20F) of our hemodialyzed patients (after 5 months without receiving corresponding treatment) were studied, to determine whether they were normal (it is noted that 31/46 had symptoms that could be attributed to B6 deficiency). The levels were determined both before any therapeutic intervention and after the administration of B6 tablets (initially 1 tablet of 200 mg/week for 8 months and then 1 tablet/24 hours for 4 months, because there was no injectable drug on the market). Then, the administration continued with an intravenous drug (because it was now available) at a dose of 1 ampule of 100 mg B6 every 15 days (during the dialysis session) for 12 months. With this treatment, serum levels of B6 improved (ANOVA, p = 0.001). The number of patients with neurological symptoms decreased over time and symptoms improved, both in terms of the number of patients in whom they were detected (from 31/46 at the beginning of the study, only 6/46 had symptoms at the end), and in terms of serum B6 levels (20/46 had lower than normal serum B6 levels at the beginning and 9/46 at the end). No one achieved B6 levels above the upper normal with the treatment. It is concluded that serum B6 levels in hemodialyzed patients are significantly reduced when they do not receive B6 supplements. The symptoms of B6 deficiency are basically neurological and the administration of tablets of 200 mg B6/day or 1 ampule of 100 mg B6/15 days is satisfactory for most patients, without the risk of hypervitaminosis.