Theophylline attenuates circulating vitamin B6 levels in children with asthma

The Role of Vitamins in the Pathogenesis of Asthma

Vitamins play a crucial role in the proper functioning of organisms. Disturbances of their levels, seen as deficiency or excess, enhance the development of various diseases, including those of the cardiovascular, immune, or respiratory systems. The present paper aims to summarize the role of vitamins in one of the most common diseases of the respiratory system, asthma. This narrative review describes the influence of vitamins on asthma and its main symptoms such as bronchial hyperreactivity, airway inflammation, oxidative stress, and airway remodeling, as well as the correlation between vitamin intake and levels and the risk of asthma in both pre- and postnatal life.

Increased homocyst(e)ine associated with smoking, chronic inflammation, and aging may reflect acute-phase induction of pyridoxal phosphatase activity

Smokers, patients with chronic inflammatory disorders, and the elderly, are characterized by increased production of IL-6 as well as increased plasma levels of homocyst(e)ine. Analysis of cirrhotic livers suggests that IL-6 may stimulate the activity of pyridoxal phosphatase in hepatocytes, thereby diminishing pyridoxal phosphate levels, compromising cystathionine beta-synthase activity, and raising plasma homocyst(e)ine. Adequate supplemental intakes of pyridoxine may be corrective in this regard.