"B12 deficiency is associated with dementia, peripheral neuropathy and spinal cord disease," says Florian Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and a researcher on the project.
"While it occurs at any age, B12 deficiency is more common in the elderly, may affect some vegetarians and their newborns, can be provoked by laughing gas anesthesia and also by a unique form of recreational drug use. Importantly, it is very easy to treat by taking one pill per day for life. We need to do a better job of detecting the problem."
Thomas and his Saint Louis University colleagues, Laurence J. Kinsella, M.D., associate professor of neurology, and Jamie T. Haas, M.D., a neurology resident, found that the standard test for B12 deficiency -- measuring its blood level -- may be too insensitive.
The scientists found that of 34 patients who had normal levels of B12, 26 had elevated levels of methylmalonic acid (MMA), which indicated B12 deficiency.
They are urging doctors who suspect their patients lack the vitamin to also test for levels of MMA, a natural compound in the body that increases when B12 is lacking.
"The usual way of diagnosing B12 deficiency may be inadequate because it underestimates the frequency of the problem, which is present in up to 20 percent of the elderly," Thomas says. "The problem is eminently treatable at pennies a day."
Dr. Kinsella has had a longstanding interest in B12 deficiency and its relationship to nitrous oxide, a general ane
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Contact: Nancy Solomon
solomonn@slu.edu
314-977-8017
Saint Louis University
27-Oct-2004