Archief Roodbont

October 15, 2009 — A new meta-analysis has found no benefit of lowering homocysteine with vitamin-B supplementation for either primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease [1,2]. Dr Arturo J Martí-Carvajal (Iberoamerican Cochrane Network, Valencia, Venezuela) and colleagues publish their findings online October 7, 2009, in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

"We found no evidence that homocysteine-lowering interventions, in the form of supplements of vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine), B₉ (folic acid), or B₁₂ (cyanocobalamin), given alone or in combination at any dosage, compared with placebo or standard care, prevents myocardial infarction [MI] or stroke or reduces total mortality in participants at risk of or with established cardiovascular disease," they report.

Martí-Carvajal told heartwire the review was necessary despite the fact that trial after trial has failed to show a benefit of homocysteine-lowering therapy. Healthcare providers, consumers, researchers, and policy makers are inundated with unmanageable amounts of information, and it is unlikely they will all have the time to properly interpret this evidence and incorporate it into healthcare decisions, he said.

The new research provides "scientific proof . . . that folic acid, vitamin B₁₂, and vitamin B₆ do not work to prevent cardiovascular disease," he said, adding that his message to people would be: "Save your money." Doctors should advise their patients of this message and instead encourage them to quit smoking, exercise more, and monitor blood pressure, glucose, and lipids to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, he stressed.

# posted by roodbont @ 1:43 AM