Are You Low On Your B12s My favorite articles talk about 500-550 being the B12 levels at which memory loss, dementia, and lethargy can be caused. The articles talk about B12 deficient people with gastritis and celiac disease, and each suggests cobalamin, B12 therapy. The doctors concluded that levels of serum vitamin B-12 concentrations currently considered normal in the United States may be too low and should be reassessed. MOLNYCKE, SWEDEN. Swedish researchers have discovered that many older people are deficient in vitamin B-12. Their study involved 368 men and women aged 75 years or older. Analysis of blood serum showed that 11 per cent of the participants were deficient in cobalamin (vitaminB-12). The researchers point out that a vitamin B-12 deficiency has been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders such as memory loss and dementia. The researchers discovered several cases of gastritis (inflammation of the lining of the stomach) and two cases of celiac disease among patients with low serum values of cobalamin. They conclude that routine screening for a vitamin B-12 deficiency is justified in the case of older people. In a separate letter to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society doctors from the Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore report on a case of vitamin B-12 deficiency. The patient, an 85-year-old man, had developed progressive memory loss and lethargy over a two-year period. Although his serum level of vitamin B-12 was within the currently accepted range, the doctors decided to proceed with vitamin B-12 therapy. The patient received an intramuscular injection of 1000 micrograms of vitamin B-12 for three consecutive days, then 1000 micrograms weekly for a month, and then one injection every month. By the fifth injection his mental status has vastly improved and his lethargy had completely vanished. The doctors conclude that the levels of serum vitamin B-12 concentrations currently considered normal in the United States may be too low and should be reassessed. The lower limit of 200 pg/mL is based on the level which causes abnormalities in the blood (pernicious anemia). In contrast the lower limit in Japan and some European countries is 500-550 pg/mL and is based on the level which causes mental manifestations such as dementia and memory loss. The doctors suggest that a trial of vitamin B-12 therapy is warranted in patients with borderline cobalamin serum levels as it is effective and inexpensive.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 17:13:29 +0000