Infant mortality accounts for the majority of child deaths in Tanzania, and malnutrition is an important underlying cause. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to describe the micronutrient status of infants in Tanzania and assess predictors of infant micronutrient deficiency. We analyzed serum vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, and ferritin levels from 446 infants at two weeks of age...

BACKGROUND An increased homocysteine (Hcy) concentration may represent a metabolic marker of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency, both significant public health problems. For different reasons, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are prone to these deficiencies. The study evaluates the reliability of Hcy concentration in predicting folate or vitamin B12 deficiency in these ...

OBJECTIVE To describe the magnitude and distribution of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency in Mexican children. MATERIALS AND METHODS Folate and vitamin B12 serum concentrations were measured in a probabilistic sample of 2 099 children. Adjusted prevalence, mean concentrations and relevant associations were calculated based on series of logistic and linear regression models. RESULTS The over...

BACKGROUND Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in older people and the prevalence increases with age. Vitamin B12 deficiency may present as macrocytic anaemia, subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord, or as neuropathy, but is often asymptomatic in older people. The diagnosis and indications for treatment are clear for individuals with low plasma levels of vitamin B12 in the setting of me...

Thrombocytopenia is the reduction of platelet number to below normal level. It may be due to the decrease in production, increase in destruction, abnormal spreading in the body or the laboratory errors. B12 deficiency is a rarely seen vitamin deficiency in childhood. It presents with megaloblastic anemia and is difficult to diagnose because of various clinical findings. Here we would like to pr...

Vitamin B12 deficiency causes skin hyperpigmentation, subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord, and megaloblastic anemia. Although vitamin B12 deficiency rarely occurs in well-nourished, healthy, young people, nitrous oxide (N2O) intoxication is an important cause of vitamin B12 deficiency in this cohort. N2O, a colorless gas used as an anesthetic since the late 19th century because of...

Objective: To increase the awareness about the relationship between vitamin B12 deficiency and affective disorders, especially bipolar affective disorder. Method: We present a patient who presented with a clinical picture of bipolar disorder along with cognitive symptoms and on investigation was found to have vitamin B12 deficiency. Results: Vitamin B12 supplementation led to amelioration of al...

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...

BACKGROUND Folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies have been known to cause megaloblastic anaemia. Since the deficiencies of these two vitamins are very common in Pakistani population, it would be imperative to investigate their role in causing megaloblastic anaemia. The objective of this study was to find out the contribution of folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies in causing megaloblastic anaemia ...

Vitamin B12 deficiency is an important and possibly under recognised cause of neurological morbidity in infants. The causes of infantile vitamin B12 deficiency are heterogeneous, ranging from dietary deficiency in a breast feeding mother to specific inborn errors of metabolism. In this brief review we discuss the clinical presentations of vitamin B12 deficiency, provide a practical approach to ...