Treatment of B12 deficiency is important to prevent progressive neurological and/or hematologic disease but requires a secure diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate second line tests of B12 status as prognostic indicators of a hematologic response to vitamin B12 therapy. Forty-nine patients referred with low, serum vitamin B12 concentrations were treated with intramuscular B12 and re-...

We report on a child in whom severe nutritional vitamin B12 deficiency was exacerbated by a genetic impairment of the folate cycle, causing reduced CSF concentrations of the methyl group donor 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. Some patients with vitamin B12 deficiency may benefit from high dose folic acid supplementation, even if plasma concentrations are high.

Two alternative methods for detecting vitamin B(12) deficiency in a psychiatric population have been compared: the ;direct' approach by microbiological assay of serum vitamin B(12) levels in all patients, and the ;indirect' approach where all patients are first screened for antigastric parietal cell antibodies and thereafter all positive reactors and other ;high-risk' patients have serum vitami...

In most countries, the classic treatment for cobalamin deficiency is based on parenteral administration as intramuscular injections in the form of cyanocobalamin and, more rarely, hydroxylor methylcobalamin [1]. In USA and UK, doses ranging from 100 to 1,000 μg per month (or every 2-3 months when hydroxocobalamin is given) are used for the duration of the patient’s life [2]. In France, treatmen...

BACKGROUND Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with many adverse health outcomes and is highly prevalent worldwide. The present study assesses the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with vitamin B12 deficiency in a representative sample of pregnant women in Colombia. METHOD We used data from the cross-sectional, nationally representative survey (ENSIN, 2010). A total of 1.78...

1. Bartram L et al. Survey of training in geriatric medicine in UK undergraduate medical schools. Age Ageing 2006; 35: 533–5. 2. Harden RM, Sowden S, Dunn WR. Some educational strategies in curriculum development. The SPICES model. Med Educ 1984; 18: 284–97. 3. Harden RM, Davis MH, Crosby JR. The new Dundee medical curriculum: a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Med Educ 1997; 31...

This review apprises the reader of recent advances in cobalamin absorption and transport since 1970. This field has been of interest to gastroenterologists, hematologists, and biochemists as well as nutritionists. Clinical conditions leading to cobalamin deficiency present especially to the first two of these specialties. Many recent advances involve biochemical definition of the specific trans...

We report the case of a 7-month-old breast fed infant who presented with a nose bleed and bruises. Investigation showed severe nutritional B12 deficiency anemia with a pancytopenia. It is important to take the nutritional history of both the infant and the mother for early prevention and treatment.