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Vitamin B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms, cobalamin deficiency, signs of vitamin b12 deficiencies, causes of vitamin b12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 is unusual for a vitamin in that it contains cobalt. The other name of Vitamin B12, cobalamin, derives from “cobal”.
Why vitamin B12 is so important
You need Vitamin B12 to process the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in food we eat into energy. Vitamin B12 plays great role for nerve function, synthesis of DNA and RNA, metabolism of energy, enzyme reactions, and production of red blood cells.
It also forms the protective covering of nerve cells and keeps red blood cells healthy, and helps prevent heart disease.
It is also important for heart, male infertility, and prevention of neural tube defects, asthma, and cancer prevention.
Causes of vitamin B12 deficiency
Deficiency of vitamin B12 is not usually from lack of intake, but rather from lack of absorption.
It is common among the elderly and those with poor diets, pernicious anemia, depression, Alzheimer’s, or malabsorption conditions (celiac disease). Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins may be deficient in older people depending on medical conditions, and prescription drug use.
Inadequate hydrochloric acid in the stomach will prevent vitamin B12 from being released from dietary proteins so it cannot be utilized. Lack of intrinsic factor can also prevent absorption.
Pernicious anemia results from inadequate absorption of vitamin B12, which can be caused by damaged stomach cells. It is most common in those over 60 years of age.
Pregnant women with deficiency of Vitamin B12 have increased risk of giving birth to a child with neural tube defects.
Vegetarians who eat no animal products are often at risk of cobalamin deficiency.
Vitamin B12 supplements are recommended for those over age 50, vegetarians, women planning to become pregnant, those with poor diets, and those at risk of heart disease
Signs of vitamin B12 deficiency
The main symptom of classic vitamin B12 deficiency is anemia. Long before anemia sets in, though, marginal vitamin B12 deficiency leads to depression, confused thinking, and other mental symptoms that look a lot like senility.
Deficiency of vitamin B12 first shows as a paralysis that begins in the extremities and moves inward.
Correct identification of vitamin B12 deficiency can prevent permanent paralysis and nerve damage. Remember that there are no symptoms of anemia when folate levels are high and only the vitamin B12 levels are low.
Common signs of B12 deficiency are anemia, appetite loss, constipation, numbness and tingling in the extremities, and confusion.
It may take several years to develop deficiency symptoms as vitamin B12 is efficiently recycled.
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Vitamin B12 deficiency lead to pernicious anemia
Vitamin B12 is one of the important nutrients in hemoglobin synthesis process, the oxygen carrying pigment in blood. Vitamin B12 is needed for DNA synthesis in the rapidly dividing cells of the bone marrow. Deficiency of vitamin B12 or folate can lead to the production of large, immature, hemoglobin-poor red blood cells.
Pernicious anemia results from inadequate absorption of vitamin B12, which can be caused by damaged stomach cells. It is most common in those over 60 years of age.
Deficiency of vitamin B12 is not usually from lack of intake, but rather from lack of absorption. Lack of intrinsic factor can also prevent absorption.
Even a more than adequate dietary intake will not help because the vitamin B12 is not absorbed through the intestines.
With pernicious anemia, Vitamin B12 must be injected or absorbed through membranes directly into the bloodstream via a nasal spray or absorbed from under the tongue.
It may take several years to develop deficiency symptoms as vitamin B12 is efficiently recycled. Whether the deficiency is from poor absorption or from a diet low in animal products, onset of symptoms is typically slow.
Symptoms of pernicious anemia
The following symptoms may indicate pernicious anemia: shortness of breath, fatigue, pallor, rapid heart rate, loss of appetite, diarrhea, tingling and numbness of hands and feet, sore mouth, unsteady gait, especially in the dark, tongue problems, smell, impaired, gums, bleeding, positive Babinski’s, reflex , loss of deep tendon reflexes, personality changes, “megaloblastic madness”.
Treatment
Pernicious anemia outcome is usually excellent with treatment. Monthly vitamin B12 injections are the definitive treatment to correct the vitamin B12. There is also a preparation of vitamin B12 that may be given intranasally (in the nose). A well-balanced diet is essential to provide other elements such as folic acid, iron, and vitamin C for healthy blood cell development.
Vitamin B12 in food
Vitamin B12 is found only in foods made from animal products, such as meat, dairy products, and eggs.
Vitamin B12 is easily lost through leaching into water while cooking. One unusual thing about vitamin B12 is that microwave cooking inactivates it. Cooking in the oven or in soups and stews preserves the most vitamin B12.
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Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms
Congenital pernicious anemia is one if the name of Vitamin B12 deficiency. Pernicious anemia is caused by a lack of intrinsic factor, a substance needed to absorb vitamin B12 from the gastrointestinal tract. Vitamin B12, in turn, is necessary for the formation of red blood cells. Anemia is a condition where red blood cells are not providing adequate oxygen to body tissues.
The main symptom of classic cobalamin deficiency is anemia, which a doctor can easily diagnose with a simple blood test. Long before anemia sets in, though, marginal cobalamin deficiency leads to depression, confused thinking, and other mental symptoms that look a lot like senility.
Intrinsic factor is a protein the body uses to absorb vitamin B12. When gastric secretions do not have enough intrinsic factor, vitamin B12 is not adequately absorbed, resulting in pernicious anemia and other problems related to low levels of vitamin B12.
Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms
Because vitamin B12 is needed by nerve cells and blood cells for them to function properly, deficiency can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including:
- fatigue,
- shortness of breath,
- tingling sensations,
- difficulty walking,
Other causes of low levels of intrinsic factor (and thus of pernicious anemia) include atrophic gastric mucosa, autoimmunity against gastric parietal cells, and autoimmunity against intrinsic factor.
Absence of intrinsic factor itself is the most common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency. Intrinsic factor is produced by cells within the stomach. In adults, the inability to make intrinsic factor can be the result of chronic gastritis or the result of surgery to remove the stomach. The onset of the disease is slow and may span decades.
Very rarely, infants and children are found to have been born lacking the ability to produce effective intrinsic factor. This form of congenital pernicious anemia is inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder. (You need a defective gene from both parents to get it.) However, most often, pernicious anemia and other forms of megaloblastic anemia in children results from other causes of vitamin B12 deficiency or other vitamin deficiencies.
Although a juvenile form of the disease can occur in children, pernicious anemia usually does not appear before the age of 30. The average age at diagnosis is 60 years.
In fact, one recent study revealed that nearly 2 percent of individuals over 60 years old suffer from pernicious anemia. Furthermore, slightly more women than men are affected.
The vitamin B12 deficiency disease can affect all racial groups, but occurs more often among people of Scandinavian or Northern European descent.
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