BACKGROUND Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with a wide spectrum of neuro-psychiatric manifestations. RESULTS We report a case of a 44 year old female patient referred to the haematology unit with vitamin B12 deficiency presenting as an acute confusional state or delirium. Total resolution of the psychiatric symptoms occurred following parenteral vitamin B12 replacement therapy. CONCLUS...

BACKGROUND Elevated concentration of serum total homocysteine usually occurs in vitamin B-12 deficiency. This metabolite can be measured and used for screening functional vitamin B-12 deficiency. OBJECTIVES We assessed functional vitamin B12 deficiency in Tehranian elderly admitted to elderly research center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences. PATIENTS AND MATERIALS A...

Hypercobalaminemia (high serum vitamin B12 levels) is a frequent and underestimated anomaly. Clinically, it can be paradoxically accompanied by signs of deficiency, reflecting a functional deficiency linked to qualitative abnormalities, which are related to defects in tissue uptake and action of vitamin B12. The aetiological profile of high serum cobalamin predominantly encompasses severe disea...

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...

Vitamin B-12 deficiency is a common problem encountered in developing countries of the world. In Europe and North America it is frequently encountered in the elderly and in people whose diets are compromised such as alcoholics. Recent data has shown that cobalamin deficiency may occur in 5% to 40% of the general population. The prevalence as stated earlier is higher in the elderly and in nursin...

Urinary aminoimidazolecarboxamide (A IC), serum folate, and serum vitamin B12 values were determined in 84 apparently healthy individuals. An automated system for determination of AIC in urine is described. Despite claims to the contrary, we found no evidence of a strong relationship between elevated (e.g., >1.3 zg/mg of creatinine) AIC excretion as reflected in a casual sample of urine and fol...

An impaired awareness of hypoglycemia is a serious problem in diabetic patients, which can lead to life-threatening severe hypoglycemia. Recurrent hypoglycemia attenuates the function of the central, mainly hypothalamic, nervous system and it causes an impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. Vitamin B12 deficiency is also associated with the dysfunction of central nervous system. We report a 72-yea...

During three decades of neurological practice I have witnessed a remarkable change in attitudes to the benefits and risks of folic acid therapy in nervous system disorders. In the 1960s all that was known and taught was that folic acid was harmful to the nervous system, especially in precipitating or exacerbating the neurological complications of vitamin B12 deficiency. So deeply held was this ...

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and vitamin B12 deficiency share common inflammatory and neurodegenerative pathophysiological characteristics. Due to similarities in the clinical presentations and MRI findings, the differential diagnosis between vitamin B12 deficiency and MS may be difficult. Additionally, low or decreased levels of vitamin B12 have been demonstrated in MS patients. Moreover, recent st...

A 90-year-old woman with orthostatic hypotension and near-syncope was found to have a low-normal level of vitamin B(12) and no other medical findings that could explain her orthostasis. Her symptoms responded to vitamin B(12) replacement therapy. This case shows that vitamin B(12) deficiency can induce orthostatic hypotension and syncope that are correctable by vitamin B(12) replacement.