Natural Health Care

Posts Tagged ‘vitamin B12 deficiency’

What treatment is anemia of vitamin B12 deficiency?

It is important to find the cause of the deficiency. For example, in the event that this occurs due to the presence of excess bacteria or intestinal parasites, will require the use of antibiotics or even surgery to correct the anatomic abnormality that may favor the overgrowth of abnormal in the intestine .

However, in all cases where a clear diagnosis of anemia should be instituted a regimen of regular intramuscular injections of vitamin B12. If there are neurological problems since the start of treatment, most likely also revert with the cure of anemia, but in some cases, especially when there is already established dementia, may be too late and not get that last forever prevent such sequelae. This treatment should be maintained after lifetime in almost all patients. Read the rest of this entry »

How does the doctor diagnose the anemia of vitamin B12 deficiency?

- The best tool for diagnosing anemia, regardless of whether the doctor is able to identify the classic signs of it, is a blood test CBC Elemental (analysis of the amount of hemoglobin count and classification of all blood cells ). Anemia is diagnosed when hemoglobin falls below 12 g/dl in women and 13g/dl in man. In B12 deficiency is also common to observe a mean corpuscular volume of red blood cells (which estimates the size of red blood cells) increased in the analysis, and the decrease in white blood cells (leukocytes) and platelets (thrombocytopenia) .

- It will be necessary by the physician requesting the study of blood under a microscope. In doing so, we will find fewer red blood cells and some macrocytes (red bulky) and a decrease in white blood cells, low platelets and aging (polisegmentación the nucleus) of a type of white blood cells (neutrophils).

- Will need to also check vitamin B12 levels in the blood, which usually are well below normal.

- It may be also an increase of certain substances in the blood such as LDH and bilirubin.

- Finally, it is often necessary to make a microscopic study of the patient’s bone marrow by extracting a blood sample from the inside bone of the chest such as the sternum or hip to confirm definitively diagnose deficiency anemia of vitamin B12.

With regard to the specific diagnosis of the cause and there are other more complex tests, with which the doctor may investigate the source of the problem and confirm or rule so concerned or not, of pernicious anemia.

credit to: Dr. Alfonso José Santiago Marí, Dr. Flemming Andersen, Dr. Patrick Davey, Dra. Rachel Green

What are the symptoms of anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency?

Symptoms of this type of anemia can occur when it was well advanced, thanks to the body’s ability to go gently offset its effects over a period of time can be very lengthy.

- It is common to the pallor of a person with a great tendency to sleepiness, joining to it a continuous feeling of fatigue and decreased tolerance to physical exertion.

- If anemia worsens arise palpitations (unpleasant sensations of the heartbeat), dizziness, intermittent claudication (leg pain when walking due to insufficient blood supply), respiratory failure and even heart angina (pain suffering heart attack similar to the ). Read the rest of this entry »

What are the main causes of vitamin B12 deficiency?

The B12 is a vitamin that is present primarily in meat and offal, but also contain a lesser amount, fish, eggs and milk. When ingested any of these foods are put in place a transport mechanism rather complex and absorption of this vitamin that requires the mediation of several proteins produced and secreted by cells of the stomach and pancreas.

Finally the ileum, the last portion of the small intestine, the place where you just absorbing. The cells of the ileum subsequently released into the blood attached to a carrier protein called transcobalamin 2, which distributes throughout the body where needed.

If we consider this simple scheme, we can better understand what can go wrong in each case the end does not end up vitamin B12 reaching those tissues where it is needed. Read the rest of this entry »

Anemia occurs when red blood cells of our body are weak or poorly manufactured, and are thus defective to perform its function of transporting oxygen to all tissues. Anemia can arise due to many causes, but most of all anemia is caused by the lack of an essential element for the formation of red blood cells, such as iron or certain vitamins such as vitamin B12 and folic acid.

Vitamins in general are indispensable to take place in the body many basic metabolic processes that result in energy production or protein synthesis and/or nucleic acids (DNA and RNA from the cells). Read the rest of this entry »