Vitamin B12 Deficiency
There are several causes of B12 deficiency. A strict vegetarian diet may promote a B12 deficiency because animal-based foods such as red meat, dairy products, fish, poultry and eggs are the only recognized source of dietary B12. A lack of B12, or the inability of stomach acids to aid in the absorption, also causes this deficiency.
Consequently, drugs that reduce stomach acid should be taken with B12 supplements. These include autoimmune diseases, pernicious or unexplained anemia, pancreatic diseases, ileal resection, Crohn’s disease, HIV infection, gastritis, gastric or small intestine surgeries, malabsorption syndromes, multiple sclerosis, and use of histamine2 receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors. A lack of B12 damages the myelin sheath that surrounds and protect nerves.
Even B12 deficiency that is relatively mild may affect the nervous system and the proper functioning of the brain.
Symptoms And Signs
(Not all symptoms and signs may be present.). There are diagnostic tests to screen for vitamin B12 deficiency, to uncover the cause of B12 deficiency and to monitor the effectiveness of treatment.
Test to assess nerve damage include: Neurological exam
Electromyography
Nerve conduction velocity test
Blood test TREATMENT AND THERAPY (Not all treatments and therapies may be indicated.).
Associated Data
Neurophysiologie Clinique
Methods A Retrospective review of 32 subjects with neurological abnormalities due to vitamin B12 deficiency, were subjected to a detailed motor and sensory nerve conduction studies of median, ulnar, external popliteal sciatic, internal popliteal sciatic and sural nerves. Eleven patients (34.37%) presented a pure sensory impairment and 14 (43.75%) presented mixed pattern sensory and motor impairment.
All cases underwent treatment with intramuscular hydroxocobalamin treatment (daily injection of 1000 μg cyanocobalamin for 4 weeks, followed by injections of 1000 μg each month) with marked clinical and haematological improvemen.