B12 Deficiency Can Cause Symptoms That Mimic Aging

This is a pretty good article, although one thing I would like to add is that the B12 levels currently considered sufficient in the United States are extremely low compared to the standards of some other countries, including Japan, which has much lower rates of B12-related conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Their traditional diet also contains ample seafood and organ meats, which are some of the best sources of dietary B12.

Laurel Blair, NTP
www.dynamicbalancenutrition.com


By JANE E. BRODY
Published: November 28, 2011

Ilsa Katz was 85 when her daughter, Vivian Atkins, first noticed that her mother was becoming increasingly confused.

“She couldn’t remember names, where she’d been or what she’d done that day,” Ms. Atkins recalled in an interview. “Initially, I was not too worried. I thought it was part of normal aging. But over time, the confusion and memory problems became more severe and more frequent.”

Her mother couldn’t remember the names of close relatives or what day it was. She thought she was going to work or needed to go downtown, which she never did. And she was often agitated.

A workup at a memory clinic resulted in a diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s disease , and Ms. Katz was prescribed Aricept, which Ms. Atkins said seemed to make matters worse. But the clinic also tested Ms. Katz’s blood level of vitamin B12. It was well below normal, and her doctor thought that could be contributing to her symptoms.

Weekly B12 injections were begun. “Soon afterward, she became less agitated, less confused and her memory was much better,” said Ms. Atkins. “I felt I had my mother back, and she feels a lot better, too.”

Now 87, Ms. Katz still lives alone in Manhattan and feels well enough to refuse outside assistance.

Still, her daughter wondered, “Why aren’t B12 levels checked routinely, particularly in older people?”

It is an important question. As we age, our ability to absorb B12 from food declines, and often so does our consumption of foods rich in this vitamin. A B12 deficiency can creep up without warning and cause a host of confusing symptoms that are likely to be misdiagnosed or ascribed to aging.

A Vital Nutrient

B12 is an essential vitamin with roles throughout the body. It is needed for the development and maintenance of a healthy nervous system, the production of DNA and formation of red blood cells.

A severe B12 deficiency results in anemia , which can be picked up by an ordinary blood test. But the less dramatic symptoms of a B12 deficiency may include muscle weakness , fatigue, shakiness, unsteady gait, incontinence, low blood pressure , depression and other mood disorders, and cognitive problems like poor memory.

Labs differ in what they consider normal, but most authorities say a deficiency occurs when B12 levels in adults fall below 250 picograms per milliliter of blood serum. Like all B vitamins , B12 is water-soluble, but the body stores extra B12 in the liver and other tissues. Even if dietary sources are inadequate for some time, a serum deficiency may not show up for years.

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