Thiamine, pyridoxine and cobalamine

Vitamins are not uncommonly uncritically prescribed by neurologists and other medical professions. The effects of vitamins are, however, often pharmacologically and biochemically well-defined. This offers the opportunity for a rational scientific approach to treatment. In this article the biochemical and pharmacological mode of action of vitamins B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine) and B12 (cobalamine) will be discussed and modern approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of clinical states of hypervitaminoses (B6) and vitamin deficiencies (B1, B6, and B12) will be presented.