| Summary: | Stroke is the loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain resulting from either
ischemia or hemorrhage. Previous studies have evaluated the clinical importance of nutritional interventions
such as vitamin B supplementation in the management of acute strokes. However, it is still inconclusive whether
or not vitamin B supplementation will benefit patients with acute strokes. Therefore, a meta-analysis was
performed 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 were
generated to illustrate the treatment effects. A systemic review of the electronic databases yielded 12 eligible
studies consisting of 7474 patients. Forest plots from the meta-analyses of the included studies illustrated that
vitamin 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 of
publication bias regarding the meta-analysis that examined the effect of vitamin B supplementation on the
plasma levels of homocysteine in acute stroke patients. These findings suggested that vitamin B supplementation
presents a potential addition to the armamentarium for the management of acute stroke patients.
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