Aim: Deficiency of cobalamin and folate during pregnancy is associated with megaloblastic anemia. Lower levels of folate and vitamin B12 were reported in mothers whose offspring had neural tube defects compared to unaffected controls. Increased methylmalonic acid (MMA) levels are a sensitive indicator of mild vitamin B12 deficiency and elevated homocysteine levels denote vitamin B12 or folate d...

The clinical picture is the most important factor in assessing the significance of test results assessing cobalamin status because there is no 'gold standard' test to define deficiency. Serum cobalamin currently remains the first-line test, with additional second-line plasma methylmalonic acid to help clarify uncertainties of underlying biochemical/functional deficiencies. Serum holotranscobala...

The studies of many investigators have led to a unified concept of the megaloblastic anemias as a single morphologic entity due to defective nucleoprotein synthesis from various causes. The vast majority of patients with megaloblastic anemia have been found to have deficiency of vitamin B12, of folic acid, or of both vitamins. For this reason, the possible interrelations of these two vitamins h...

Because cobalamin deficiency is routinely treated with parenteral cobalamin, we investigated the efficacy of oral therapy. We randomly assigned 38 newly diagnosed cobalamin deficient patients to receive cyanocobalamin as either 1 mg intramuscularly on days 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 30, 60, and 90 or 2 mg orally on a daily basis for 120 days. Therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated by measuring hemat...

Many children in low- and middle-income countries may have inadequate intake of vitamin B12 and folate; data confirming these inadequacies are limited. We used biochemical, demographic, behavioral and anthropometric data to describe the folate and vitamin B12 concentrations among six- to 23-month-old Nepalese children. Vitamin B12 (serum B12 < 150 pmol/L) and folate deficiencies (red blood cell...