Vitamin B12 deficiency and recent publications

The Leiden 85-Plus Study

“Vitamin B12 and folate and the risk of anemia in old age”

WP den Elzen, RG Westendorp, M Frölich, W de Ruijter, WJ Assendelft, J Gussekloo.

Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Post Zone V-0-P, PO Box 9600 2300 RC Leiden The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND — Screening for deficiencies in vitamin B(12) and folate is advocated to prevent anemia in very elderly individuals. However, the effects of vitamin B(12) and folate deficiency on the development of anemia in old age have not yet been established.

METHODS — The current study is embedded in the Leiden 85-Plus Study, a population-based prospective study of subjects aged 85 years.

• Levels of vitamin B(12), folate, and homocysteine were determined at baseline.
• Hemoglobin levels and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were determined annually during 5 years of follow-up. RESULTS:
• We analyzed data from 423 subjects who did not use any form of cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, or folic acid supplementation, neither at baseline nor during follow-up.
• Folate deficiency (<7 nmol/L; n = 34) and elevated homocysteine levels (>13.5 mumol/L; n = 194) were associated with anemia at baseline (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-5.61; and adjusted OR, 1.82;95% CI, 1.08-3.06, respectively), but vitamin B(12) deficiency (<150 pmol/L; n = 68) was not (adjusted OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 0.79-2.87).
• Furthermore, vitamin B(12) deficiency was not associated with the development of anemia during follow-up (adjusted HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.46-1.82) or with changes in MCV (adjusted linear mixed model; P = .77).
• Both folate deficiency and elevated homocysteine levels were associated with the development of anemia from age 85 years onward (adjusted HR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.55-7.14; and adjusted HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.01-2.88, respectively), but not with an increase in MCV over time (P > .30).

CONCLUSION — In the general population of very elderly individuals, anemia in 85-year-old subjects is associated with folate deficiency and elevated homocysteine levels but not with vitamin B(12) deficiency.

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Recent Publications on Vitamin B 12 Deficiency you can find on http://www.bioportfolio.com/indepth/Vitamin_B_12_Deficiency.html

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NOTE — The absence of vitamin B12 deficiency gives rise to question “can absorption of enough of the combination B12. B9, B6 lower the presence of elevated homocysteine levels” as is established that the presence of too much homocysteine can produce negative cardio-vasculair conditions. And what about the presence of Methylmalonic acid.

Because – Increased methylmalonic acid levels may indicate a vitamin B12 deficiency. However, it is sensitive without being specific. MMA is elevated in 90-98% of patients with B12 deficiency. This test may be overly sensitive, as 25-20% of patients over the age of 70 have elevated levels of MMA, but 25-33% of them do not have B12 deficiency. For this reason, MMA is not routinely recommended in the elderly. [1]

Abdominal epilepsy (Autonomic Seizures)

Simple partial seizures may or may not be noticable

• Simple partial seizures result from epileptic activity which is localized in one part of the brain, usually the neo cortex or brainstem. In these cases the consciousness is not impaired. People experiencing a simple or partial seizure can talk and answer questions and they will remember what went on during the seizure.
• Simple partial seizures take different forms in different people. They are further classified according to their symptoms:Autonomic, Emotional, Motor or Sensory.
• Simple partial seizures usually last just a few seconds, although they may be longer.

You will find upon further investigation: Autonomic seizures are nervus vagus (10th brain nerve) related. While Emotional, Motor and Sensory seizures can all be tracked back to temporal brain functions. As these are all located on the temporal lobe.

When there are no convulsions, they may not be obvious to the onlooker.

“Autonomic Seizures – These seizures are accompanied by autonomic symptoms or signs, such as abdominal discomfort or nausea which may rise into the throat (epigastric rising), stomach pain, the rumbling sounds of gas moving in the intestines (borborygmi), belching, flatulence and vomiting.

This has sometimes been referred to as abdominal epilepsy.

Other symptoms may include pallor, flushing, sweating, hair standing on end (piloerection), dilation of the pupils, alterations in heart rate and respiration, and urination. A few people may experience sexual arousal, penile erection, and orgasm.“

[http://epilepsyontario.org/client/EO/EOWeb.nsf/web/simple+partial+seizures]

Simple partial seizures can lead to complex partial seizures, or to tonic-clonic convulsions.

Mindfulness Sati Vipassana Hakalau

Impermanence: Slow down time, spread out space

This morning I listened to the 5th audiobook of Shinzen Young of the pack called ““Science of Enlightenment”. By now you should know how thrilled I am about listening to these audiobooks. [Consider other blogposts on this site] He – to me – is a very reliable, resourceful and authoritative person to get your information and lessons from and easy to listen to.

This 5th Audiobook mentioned that Mindfulness (Sati, Vipassana, Hakalau, Uptime) , where the essence lies in the observing of the qualities that show up in your thinking (body) and/or feeling (body).

• Name the quality as it shows up by its character/classification.
• Locate them in the “body” and notice what influence it has in the “body”.
• Just be the observant, let happen what happens.
• Allow the quality to grow, shift.
• To experience objective is being mindful.

Mindfulness gives you the power to experience that what is there without justification.
Infuse it with equanimity .. be what is, to the best of your ability.

With Mindfullness you see what is happening and in time you will find purification happening as you observe the thinking-feeling process.

You find yourself being able to discern the different components that make up to that total of that feeling-thinking process.

This in contrast to fighting which will make your life unbearable. Thus you find yourself with the ability to reduce suffering with Mindfulness.

To be in impermanence is to follow these sensations. Let if grow it want, let it contract if it want. In doing so you will find the resistance flows away gratifing this experience

If the sensation is lightness, peaceful, balanced and it gives you the feeling to float, then float.
If you experience solidity, pressure, a force pull in, a force push out the follow this movement.

The gratifing situation you produce is you learn yourself the experience the feeling-thinking body wants to experience. Free and without restrictions.

<< Very Inspiring >> Listen to Shinzen Young: “Science of Enlightenment” as he talks about: Mindfullnes, Vipassana, Samadhi, Impermanence, Equanimity as it is very enlightening what he has to say when you listen intently and let it all come in, smoothly.