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Vitamin B 12 deficiency, also known as cobalamin deficiency, is the medical condition in which the blood and tissue have a lower than normal level of vitamin B 12. [5] Symptoms can vary from none to severe. [1] Mild deficiency may have few or absent symptoms. [1]
Serum vitamin B 12 is a medical laboratory test that measure vitamin B 12 only in the blood binding to both transcobalamins. [1] Most of the time, 80–94% of vitamin B 12 in the blood binds to haptocorrin, while only 6–20% is binds to transcobalamin ll. [2] Only transcobalamin ll is "active" and can be used by the body. [1]
Lack of vitamin B12 can cause megaloblastic anemia—a condition characterized by larger than normal red blood cells in a smaller than normal amount. This causes fatigue, paleness in the skin ...
Vitamin B 12 was discovered as a result of pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disorder in which the blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells, due to a deficiency of vitamin B 12. [ 5 ] [ 16 ] The ability to absorb the vitamin declines with age, especially in people over 60.
A vitamin B12 level of less than 200 pg/mL is considered deficient. Treatment First, have your health care provider run blood tests to see if you truly have a B12 deficiency.
If there are other, reversible causes of low vitamin B 12 levels, the cause must be treated. [106] Vitamin B 12 deficiency anemia is usually easily treated by providing the necessary level of vitamin B 12 supplementation. [107] The injections are quick-acting, and symptoms usually go away within one to two weeks. [107]
Over time, a deficiency of B12 can cause problems with balance, confusion, depression, poor memory and possibly dementia, and it can even cause permanent damage to the nervous system, Somers says.
Anemia is a deficiency in the size or number of red blood cells or in the amount of hemoglobin they contain. [1] This deficiency limits the exchange of O 2 and CO 2 between the blood and the tissue cells. [1] Globally, young children, women, and older adults are at the highest risk of developing anemia. [1]