Restricted dietary intake is common among children with behavioral issues. Here we report a case of a severely autistic child who presented initially with limp but who soon developed cough, tachypnea, hypoxia, and tachycardia. An echocardiogram revealed evidence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) with severely dilated right ventricle and elevated right-sided pressures. The etiology of his PH was un...

Vitamin deficiencies are known to be common among infants residing in low- and middle-income countries but relatively few studies have assessed several biochemical parameters simultaneously. The objective of the study was to describe the status of vitamins (A, D, E, B₆, B12 and folate) in breastfed infants. We measured the plasma concentrations of trans retinol, 25 hydroxy vitamin D, α-tocopher...

In cobaiamin deficiency, inadequate DNA-thymine synthesis appears to resuit from decreased conversion of N5methyltetrahydrofolic acid to tetrahydrofo ic acid (THE). The N5-methyl THE conversion catalyzed by N5methyl THF-homocysteine methyltransferase requires a cobalamin coenzyme, presumed to be methylcobalamin (methyl-B12). In support of the above, in B12-deficient marrow cultures, methyl-B12 ...

Background: Complex B vitamin deficiency has been associated to cognitive impairment and dementing disorders in the elderly. Objective: This work aims to assess whether patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have lower levels of folic acid and cobalamin (vitamin B12) compared to age and gender-matched controls. Methods: One hundred and forty six elderly subje...

It is well-established that more than 8% of patients examined for vitamin B12 deficiency unexpectedly have increased plasma levels of the vitamin, but so far there are no guidelines for the clinical interpretation of such findings. In this review, we summarise known associations between high plasma cobalamin and diseases. We report associations mainly with cancer, liver and kidney diseases, but...

BACKGROUND Ageing can be associated with poor dietary intake, reduced nutrient absorption, and less efficient utilization of nutrients. Loss of memory and related cognitive function are also common among older persons. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of inadequate vitamin status among long-term care patients and determine if an association exists between vitamin status and each of th...

Methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations are increased in cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency, but the relative diagnostic usefulness of determination of MMA in serum vs urine has not yet been assessed. We obtained urine collections and matched serum samples from 28 healthy volunteers and from 20 consecutive patients admitted for clinical and hematological evaluation because of low cobalamin conc...

The aim of this study was to investigate urine early kidney injury molecules, including human kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), liver-type fatty-acid binding protein (L-FABP), N-acetyl-b-D-glucosaminidase A (NAG), and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in children with vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency (CD). Twelve children with vitamin B12 deficiency and 20 healthy matched cont...

OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate the prevalence of B12 deficiency in metformin-treated, morbidly obese, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, compared to morbidly obese controls, as well as to evaluate the magnesium status. DESIGN Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of plasma vitamin B12, plasma magnesium, glucometabolic status and clinical measurements in all consecutive morbidly obe...

Vitamin B-12 was discovered in 1948 in the liver of animals, as a results of three scientists–Whipple, Minot and Murphy, looking into what caused pernicious anemia, which until the time of their discovery was deadly. In 1934 they discovered that a liver, a very rich source of B12, could be used to treat pernicious anemia (inability of the bloodstream to carry oxygen). When the discovery was mad...