An aggravation of folic acid deficiency by an administration of vitamin B12 upon children with nutritional dystrophy.

Some preceding papersl)2)3) from Our Laboratory showed that macrocytic anemia was not infrequently found among children with nutritional dystrophy at Hirosaki Area, Aomori Prefecture, and that folic acid deficiency was held as a contributing factor to the development of the macrocytic anemia in question. In 1956 Harris4) reported that clinical manifestations of folic acid deficiency such as glossitis and cheilosis were aggravated by small doses (1•`10 ƒÁ daily) of vitaminB12 in the patients with pernicious anemia or nutritional macrocytic anemia. In 1956 Narayanan et al5). reported that intramuscular injection of vitamin B12 caused a marked increase in blood vitaminB12 level at first, and then an increase in serum folic acid levels, of which peak values were reached within 3 to 7 days after the vitaminB12 injection. Harris4) and Narayanan et al5.) were of the opinion that an administration of vitaminB12 caused an increase of metabolic demand for folic acid and accelerated depletion of folic acid from the depots, and that the rise in serum folic acid levels after an administration of vitaminB12 was a manifestation of mobilization of folic acid from the depots. In the present paper I shall report a biochemical evidence for aggravation of folic acid deficiency by doses of vitaminB12 upon children with nutritional dystrophy.