B12: Difference between revisions
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===Symptoms of deficiency=== | ===Symptoms of deficiency=== | ||
====At first...==== | |||
*Sore red tongue | *Sore red tongue | ||
*[[Enlarged spleen]] | *[[Enlarged spleen]] | ||
| Line 10: | Line 11: | ||
*Sleep disturbances | *Sleep disturbances | ||
*Symptoms of [[anaemia]] | *Symptoms of [[anaemia]] | ||
Later stages | ====Later stages==== | ||
*Symptoms of cord degeneration | *Symptoms of cord degeneration - due to '''[[subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord]]'''. | ||
*Confusion (later stage) | *Confusion (later stage) | ||
Revision as of 15:11, 22 May 2010
What is B12
B12 is a B vitamin!
Symptoms of deficiency
At first...
- Sore red tongue
- Enlarged spleen
- Paraesthesia (pins and needles), leading to peripheral neuropathy
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Depression
- Sleep disturbances
- Symptoms of anaemia
Later stages
- Symptoms of cord degeneration - due to subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord.
- Confusion (later stage)
Causes of deficiency
- Poor diet - especially vegans, since its found in eggs, meat and milk.
- Coeliac disease, or Crohn's disease, since these inflammatory bowel disorders irritate the end of the ileum, where B12 is absorbed.
- Terminal ileum resection (since this is where most of the absoprtion happens).
- Autoimmune atrophic gastritis - this is one cause of pernicious anaemia, where the parietal cells in the stomach are killed off by the immune system. More common in Northern Europe. Leads to no intrinsic factor being released.