The minimal daily requirement of dietary vitamin B12 is defined as that amount which must be ingested in the diet to prevent the occurrence of megaloblastosis, anemia, or other manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency. An attempt has been made to define this requirement by studying hematological responses to varying amounts of the vitamin in five south Indian subjects with vitamin B12 deficienc...

Vitamin B-12 deficiency is a common problem encountered in developing countries of the world. In Europe and North America it is frequently encountered in the elderly and in people whose diets are compromised such as alcoholics. Recent data has shown that cobalamin deficiency may occur in 5% to 40% of the general population. The prevalence as stated earlier is higher in the elderly and in nursin...

Urinary aminoimidazolecarboxamide (A IC), serum folate, and serum vitamin B12 values were determined in 84 apparently healthy individuals. An automated system for determination of AIC in urine is described. Despite claims to the contrary, we found no evidence of a strong relationship between elevated (e.g., >1.3 zg/mg of creatinine) AIC excretion as reflected in a casual sample of urine and fol...

An impaired awareness of hypoglycemia is a serious problem in diabetic patients, which can lead to life-threatening severe hypoglycemia. Recurrent hypoglycemia attenuates the function of the central, mainly hypothalamic, nervous system and it causes an impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. Vitamin B12 deficiency is also associated with the dysfunction of central nervous system. We report a 72-yea...

To fulfill the vitamin B12 requirement in chronic strict vegetarian or vegan fortified supplement foods are must essential as it is exclusive component of animal based food, potential neurohematological symptoms generally with anemia but could be the one without anemia in some rare cases of vitamin B12 deficiency status. This case report visualizes the common strict vegetarian neurological rela...

During three decades of neurological practice I have witnessed a remarkable change in attitudes to the benefits and risks of folic acid therapy in nervous system disorders. In the 1960s all that was known and taught was that folic acid was harmful to the nervous system, especially in precipitating or exacerbating the neurological complications of vitamin B12 deficiency. So deeply held was this ...

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and vitamin B12 deficiency share common inflammatory and neurodegenerative pathophysiological characteristics. Due to similarities in the clinical presentations and MRI findings, the differential diagnosis between vitamin B12 deficiency and MS may be difficult. Additionally, low or decreased levels of vitamin B12 have been demonstrated in MS patients. Moreover, recent st...

OBJECTIVES Many patients with vitamin B12 deficiency do not have anemia or macrocytosis, but the prevalence of B12 deficiency in patients without macrocytosis is not known. METHODS We investigated the prevalence of B12 deficiency among patients with normocytosis and microcytosis and recommended a screening strategy. All patients (n = 3714) with serum B12 measured at the Prince of Wales Hospit...

A 90-year-old woman with orthostatic hypotension and near-syncope was found to have a low-normal level of vitamin B(12) and no other medical findings that could explain her orthostasis. Her symptoms responded to vitamin B(12) replacement therapy. This case shows that vitamin B(12) deficiency can induce orthostatic hypotension and syncope that are correctable by vitamin B(12) replacement.

Herein we report that infection of a murine macrophage cell line with Bacillus anthracis results in the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-12 (IL-12). When infected with B. anthracis spores in combination with lipopolysaccharide, macrophages release increased amounts of IL-12. We found no evidence of inhibition of cytokine responses in macrophages infected with B. anthrac...