Vitamin B6 deficiencies can also commonly happen as a result of isoniazid treatment for tuberculosis, as isoniazid attaches and inactivates vitamin B6.
Jacobs was studying whether the TB drug isoniazid was being inactivated by the presence of a particular amino acid, cysteine, which in chemical terms acts as a reducing agent, by donating electrons.
Those at highest risk can take medicine, but Vanderbilt University researcher Timothy Stirling says not everyone follows through with the treatment, which is a daily dose of isoniazid for nine months.