Riboflavin - B2

[trggirl]

I have told this story before but I found new information that might help.

 

In the fall of 2010, my daughter caught the flu and took a downward turn. She was ticcing terribly, she had brain fog, repeating things, nightmares, OCD, etc, etc, We want through all the basic testing again and she came back with low levels on several things. One was riboflavin. Because we had had reactions with some of the other low level supplements before (B12, Vit D), we decided to try riboflavin. I started her on one capsule (100mg) per day and gave it to her for a few days. I was flipping through the paperwork a few days later and realized that they only wanted me to give her 25mg so I immediately dropped the dose but by that time, my daughter had completely quit ticcing. I realize it could have been a total coincidence but it seemed very dramatic. It was a situation where we had been at a very low point for about a month and I started the riboflavin and things improved very quickly.

 

Last night I was flipping through the hundreds of studies I have printed out and came across this study...

 

"Vitamin B2 inhibits glutamate release from rat cerebrocortical nerve terminals"

 

I originally thought the riboflavin might be helping because it is an antioxidant but now I wonder if it's the glutamate connection.

 

Oh, and one more thing......we did blood testing through Spectracell and this is what showed the low B2. When we went through labcorp, the levels were normal.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to share.

[MomWithOCDSon]

Very interesting, thanks!

[dut]

Hi - I also wonder if it could be a double whammy effect if for your child methylation could be an issue.

 

If you are an under methylator you run the risk of increased homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine can compromise the BBB. I've read that B2 is used to help lower high levels of homocysteine, possibly helping the integrity of the BBB?

 

edited - I went to see if I could find the reference re B2 and Hcy but couldn't. I did find others that discuss it in general with other B vitamins and one site, that didn't cite its source, that says B2 lowers Hcy by 20%-40% in those affected by the MTHFR genetic polymorphism. Sounds impressive but a quick search on google couldn't verify it in any way....

Edited January 15, 2012 by dut

[trggirl]

Interesting dut. I have never heard that. I put homocysteine on my list of things that might be important to check, but I have to wait for our doc to decide. Can you check it with a simple blood test?

[dut]

Yes - I believe so. Our ped has just ordered it for our ds4 but he is homozygous for the C677T MTHFR polymorphism which puts him at heightened risk for increased homocyteine.

[911RN]

Deleted- see below. Double post

Edited January 17, 2012 by 911RN

[911RN]

My son seems to be a low energy/easily fatigued kid for whatever reason...docs have never been able to give reason nor ever searched for good definitive cause. He had sleep study- normal. However, in line with the riboflavin post....I have always had this supplement in the back of my mind because of something I saw on CBN, one time, of all places. I was channel surfing- I don't really watch this program but the topic caught my eye. This was years ago and after my father had had a heart attack. Anyway, they gave 4 vitamin supplements that cardiologists considered the "Fantastic 4." This combo was suggested for folks with cardiac issues particularly those with CHF or those with impaired Left ventricular function- typically causes lots of fatique.

 

The 4 drugs were Riboflavin, CoQ10, Fish Oil and one I can't seem to remember??? Anyway, I put my son on CoQ10 about 2 months ago and he does seem to be having less fatigue issues. Next, I was going to implement Riboflavin. I have used Fish oil in the past and did not notice any real negatives or positives?? Maybe I need to include it in the whole package of the 4?? Increased Homocysteine plays some type of role in cardiac patients with increased inflammation in heart that makes them more suseptible to CAD etc which leads to CHF, LVH etc.Anyway- sorta fascinating- different pathologies- same root evil that responds to the same medication supplements?? This is fairly well researched. Cardiology is probably one of the major systems where we have a good, solid understanding and long research with good double blind studies, standard of care etc. These 4- (really 3 since I can't remember one )had great support of big time cardiologists and these were used for their heart patients whom were on heart transplant lists etc.

 

Riboflavin may be on my next GNC run:) Just thought I would add to the thought process. Unrelated but related- in a way!

 

Here is link- I found it on CBN website: It was 2009- wonder I can remember anything about it AT ALL. It said Ribose- not Riboflavin so I may be wrong on all this...don't think they are the same?? Awesome Foursome...Fantastic 4. Tomato, tomata. Carnitine was the 4th supplement.

 

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2009/June/The-Awesome-Foursome-Nutrients-for-Health/

[trggirl]

Even if it was Ribose and not Riboflavin, it was still a good article. Thanks for sharing!