Meta-analysis reveals protective effects of vitamin B on stroke patients

Abstract

Stroke is the loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain resulting from eitherischemia or hemorrhage. Previous studies have evaluated the clinical importance of nutritional interventionssuch as vitamin B supplementation in the management of acute strokes. However, it is still inconclusive whetheror not vitamin B supplementation will benefit patients with acute strokes. Therefore, a meta-analysis wasperformed to assess the efficacy of vitamin B supplementation in the treatment of stroke patients. Medline,Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases were searched (from 1960 to June 2015) and forest plots weregenerated to illustrate the treatment effects. A systemic review of the electronic databases yielded 12 eligiblestudies consisting of 7474 patients. Forest plots from the meta-analyses of the included studies illustrated thatvitamin B supplementation significantly lowered the plasma concentration of total homocysteine (SMD = -0.82;95% CI: -0.77; Z = -29.06, p < 0.0001) and resulted in significant reduction in stroke recurrence (OR = 0.86%; 95%CI: 0.76, 0.97; Z = -2.41; p = 0.016) as well as a combined incidence of vascular events, including recurrent strokes,myocardial infarctions and vascular deaths (OR = 0.87%; 95% CI: 0.79, 0.96; Z= -2.73; p = 0.0063).Additionally, the nearly-symmetrical funnel plot (Egger’s test, t = −1.705, p = 0.1224) indicated the absence ofpublication bias regarding the meta-analysis that examined the effect of vitamin B supplementation on theplasma levels of homocysteine in acute stroke patients. These findings suggested that vitamin B supplementationpresents a potential addition to the armamentarium for the management of acute stroke patients.