Vitamin Information Center

The Ear, Nose, Mouth, and Throat
Volume 1’s first section is the “The Ear, Nose,
Mouth, and Throat.” Through these structures the
body receives auditory, olfactory, and gustatory
sensory information—sounds, smells, and tastes.
The throat does double duty as the conduit to
carry both air and nutrition, essential sustenance
for the body, and also makes possible the uniquely
human form of communication—speech.
The functions of these sensory organs and
structures overlap and integrate with each other
in ways such that the loss of one sensory system
affects others. Speech is difficult without the ability
to hear, for example, and the sensory pathways
for smell and taste are so intertwined that
both networks become impaired when one or the
other does not function properly. Olfactory nerve
fibers are capable of detecting thousands of odors,
enhancing the brain’s ability to interpret hundreds
of flavors with input from only four basic taste
qualities (sweet, sour, salt, and bitter).
The sense of touch resides in specialized nerves
that populate the surface of the skin in varying
concentrations to provide different levels of tactile
response. The lips and fingertips, for example, are
exquisitely sensitive, while the surfaces of the
arms and legs are less responsive to touch. The
structures of the inner ear also regulate the body’s
balance, integrating with the nervous system as
well as the musculoskeletal system (as anyone
who has found it challenging to walk after spinning
in circles well knows).

Elderly people who consume enough meat, fish and milk containing vitamin B12 may help prevent their brains from shrinking and may preserve their memories, Oxford researchers said.

People who had higher vitamin B12 levels were six times less likely to experience brain shrinkage compared with those who had lower levels, according to a study from the university’s Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing in the journal Neurology.

Vitamin B12 is important for the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system and the formation of blood. Deficiency of the vitamin is linked to tiredness, irritability and depression as well as decreased mental capacity, concentration and memory. A shrinking brain is associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Simply adjusting our diets to consume more vitamin B12 through eating meat, fish, fortified cereals or milk may be something we can easily do to prevent brain shrinkage and so perhaps save our memory,” said lead Oxford researcher Anna Vogiatzoglou.

The researchers performed brain scans, memory testing and physical examinations on 107 people aged 61-87.

Supplements containing high doses of vitamin B6 should carry a detailed warning to consumers that they can be potentially toxic and damage the nervous system, according to Australia’s medicine watchdog.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s complementary medicines evaluation committee says warning labels required on products containing 50mg or greater doses of vitamin B6 should be expanded to include more specific advice about potential toxic effects. High doses can cause peripheral neuropathy, which causes numbness, tingling and burning sensations in limbs.

The TGA says there has been a well-established link to the condition and taking big amounts of vitamin B6 — which is also known as pyridoxine, pyridoxal and pyridoxamine — but some consumers may be unaware of the risk, particularly if they take several supplements including multivitamins.

The agency’s adverse drug reactions advisory committee has received two reports of people suffering peripheral neuropathy after taking vitamin B6.

The committee said it was concerned that the overuse of single vitamin products while taking multivitamins could lead to people routinely taking excessive amounts of vitamins B6 and A.

CATHY O’LEARY
MEDICAL EDITOR