Numerous medical studies have supported that a deficiency of vitamin B12 can lead to problems of mood and memory as well as neurologic symptoms. Patients have also reported problems with unsteady gait, muscle weakness, fatigue, irregular heart beat, dizziness, faintness, hair loss.
dementia, nerve damage, thinking
Older people with low blood levels of vitamin B12 markers may be more likely to have lower brain volumes and have problems with their thinking skills, according to researchers at Rush University Medical Center.
Being mildly vitamin B-12 deficient could be an indication that some older adults are at a greater risk for accelerated cognitive decline, an observational study from researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University suggests.
B vitamins slow brain atrophy in people with memory problems
Daily tablets of certain B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people who suffer from mild memory problems, an Oxford University study has shown.
The two-year randomised clinical trial is the largest to study the effect of B vitamins on mild cognitive impairment, and one of the first disease-modifying trials in the Alzheimer’s field to show positive results in people.
fracture risk in older men
In an extensive study, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg can now show that low levels of vitamin B12 in the blood increases the risk of fractures in older men.
schizophrenia symptoms
Folate and vitamin B12 reduce disabling schizophrenia symptoms in some patients. Adding the dietary supplements folate and vitamin B12 to treatment with antipsychotic medication improved a core symptom component of schizophrenia in a study of more than 100 patients. JAMA Psychiatry
Research continues to show the benefits of vitamin B12 .
We’ve been measuring Homocysteine and MMA (methylmalonic acid) as marking aids for a more thorough evaluation of B12 status. When symptoms are present, and wee see suboptimal levels (and even within the “normal range” ) that can lead to symptoms, we strive for optimal B12 levels.
The serum B-12 range is very broad, usually about 200-900 and we often see patients who are told that their serum level is normal (ie, when at 300-400) but this is not optimal as the patient may function much better at 600 or even 800 which is twice what he/she was.
Questions? Email us magazinercenter@gmail.com
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