Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Children With Infantile Spasms: A Case-Control Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 767-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahender K. Meena ◽  
Suvasini Sharma ◽  
Himani Bhasin ◽  
Puneet Jain ◽  
Seema Kapoor ◽  
...  

There have been few case reports showing association of vitamin B12 deficiency with infantile spasms. We planned this study to see if there was an association of serum vitamin B12 deficiency in children with development of infantile spasms. Cases included children with infantile spasms of ages 6 months to 3 years. The controls were children in the same age group who had global developmental delay but no history of epileptic spasms. Mean serum vitamin B12, serum homocysteine, and urinary methylmalonic acid levels were measured in both groups and compared. Children with infantile spasms had lower mean serum vitamin B12 levels (354.1 pg/mL; standard deviation 234.1 pg/mL) as compared to children with global developmental delay without spasms (466.7 pg/mL; standard deviation 285.5 pg/mL) ( P value < .05). Mean serum homocysteine level (13.9 vs 7.8 μmol/L, P = .02) and mean urinary methylmalonic acid level (68.1 mmol/mol of creatinine vs 26.1 mmol/mol of creatinine, P = .03) were elevated in children with infantile spasms than in controls. Fourteen children (35.0%) with infantile spasms were vitamin B12 deficient compared with 3 (7.50%) controls ( P = .005). Thus, vitamin B12 deficiency may have an association with infantile spasms. More studies are needed before recommending routine measurement of serum B12 levels in children with infantile spasms.

2009 ◽  
Vol 79 (56) ◽  
pp. 297-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laila Hussein ◽  
Sahar Abdel Aziz ◽  
Salwa Tapouzada ◽  
Boehles

Objective:Cobalamin (B12) deficiency has been reported in infants born to mothers with low cobalamin intake. Early diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency in infants is critical for the prevention of neurobehavioral disorders. We investigated the relationship between serum vitamin B12 level in newborns and in their healthy mothers who consumed an omnivorous diet. Anthropometry was studied longitudinally to assess the growth velocity of the infants. Urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA) excretion of 6-month old infants was compared retrospectively as the biomarker correlated with the initial serum vitamin B12 concentrations. Methods: Serum cobalamin and blood hemoglobin were determined in 84 pairs of newborns and their mothers. Urinary MMA excretion was measured in the same subjects during the first 6 months of the post partum period. Results: At birth, median serum cobalamin levels were 152.0 pmol/L in the mothers and 296.6 pmol/L in the newborns. Maternal and neonatal serum cobalamin levels had no effect on growth velocity during the first six months of postnatal life. Serum maternal and neonatal cobalamin levels were inversely associated with urinary MMA excretion. Conclusion: Early diagnosis of vitamin B12 status in neonates and infants is crucial, particularly in nutritionally deprived areas. Biochemical measurement of plasma cobalamin or its metabolic marker MMA is highly recommended. Urinary MMA measurement in cobalamin diagnostics provides an advantage in that blood sampling is not required. A vitamin B12 taskforce should be created to alleviate vitamin deficiency and its negative consequences.


2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 1948-1961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona O'Leary ◽  
Margaret Allman-Farinelli ◽  
Samir Samman

Poor vitamin B12 status may lead to the development of cognitive decline and dementia but there is a large variation in the quality, design of and results reported from these investigations. We have undertaken a systematic review of the evidence for the association between vitamin B12 status and cognitive decline in older adults. A database search of the literature to 2011 was undertaken, using keywords related to vitamin B12 and cognition. All prospective cohort studies assessing the association of serum vitamin B12 or biomarkers were included. Quality assessment and extraction of the data were undertaken by two researchers. The quality assessment tool assigns a positive, neutral or negative rating. Of 3772 published articles, thirty-five cohort studies (n 14 325 subjects) were identified and evaluated. No association between serum vitamin B12 concentrations and cognitive decline or dementia was found. However, four studies that used newer biomarkers of vitamin B12 status (methylmalonic acid and holotranscobalamin (holoTC)) showed associations between poor vitamin B12 status and the increased risk of cognitive decline or dementia diagnosis. In general, the studies were of reasonable quality (twenty-one positive, ten neutral and four negative quality) but of short duration and inadequate subject numbers to determine whether an effect exists. Future studies should be of adequate duration (at least 6 years), recruit subjects from the seventh decade, choose markers of vitamin B12 status with adequate specificity such as holoTC and/or methylmalonic acid and employ standardised neurocognitive assessment tools and not screening tests in order to ascertain any relationship between vitamin B12 status and cognitive decline.


1974 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C Siddons

1. The development of vitamin B12 deficiency, as indicated by the serum and liver vitamin B12 levels and the excretion of methylmalonic acid, was studied over a 2-year period in baboons (Papio cynocephalus) given a diet deficient in vitamin B12. The effects of partial hepatectomy and the inclusion of either ampicillin or sodium propionate in the diet on the rate of development of the deficiency were also studied.2. The baboons had previously been fed on a mainly vegetarian diet. Their serum vitamin B12 levels were less than 100 ng/l and the mean liver vitamin B12 concentration was 0·56 μ/g. Similar serum and liver vitamin B12 levels were found in baboons given a purified diet supplemented with 1 μg vitamin B12/d, and marked increases in the serum and liver vitamin B12 levels occurred when the daily intake was increased to 2 μg.3. The serum vitamin B12 levels decreased to less than 20 ng/l in all baboons given a vitamin B12-deficient diet.4. The liver vitamin B12 concentration also decreased in all baboons given a deficient diet. At 9 months the lowest levels (0·20 μ/g) were found in partially hepatectomized baboons but subsequently baboons given the diet containing ampicillin had the lowest levels (0·11 μ/g).5. The excretion of methylmalonic acid after a valine load was found to be inversely related to the liver vitamin B12 concentration. In the early part of the study, partially hepatectomized baboons excreted the highest amount but subsequently baboons given a diet containing ampicillin excreted the highest amount.6. Increased formiminoglutamic acid excretion after a histidine load was observed in two baboons given a vitamin B12-deficient diet and in both baboons the liver folic acid concentration was low.7. No haematological or neurological symptoms of the vitamin B12 deficiency were observed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Vrethem ◽  
E Mattsson ◽  
H Hebelka ◽  
K Leerbeck ◽  
A Österberg ◽  
...  

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate if multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency. Methods: We measured serum vitamin B12, plasma folate, serum methylmalonic acid (MMA), plasma homocysteine (tHcy) and also cerebrospinal fluid (C SF) MMA and tHcy in 72 patients with MS and 23 controls. Results: The mean plasma tHcy level was significantly increased in MS patients (11.6 mmol/L) compared with controls (7.4 mmol/L) (P =4-0.002). Seven patients showed low serum vitamin B12levels but only one of them had concomitant high plasma tHcy. None of them showed high serum MMA. Plasma or blood folate levels did not differ between MS patients and controls. We found no significant differences in mean values or frequency of pathological tests of serum B12, serum MMA, mean corpuscular volume (MC V), haemoglobin concentration, C SF tHcy or C SF MMA between patients and healthy subjects. There were no correlations between C SF and serum/plasma levels of MMA or tHcy. Serum vitamin B12, serum MMA, plasma tHcy, C SF Hcy or C SF MMA were not correlated to disability status, activity of disease, duration of disease or age. Conclusions:The relevance of the increased mean value of plasma tHcy thus seems uncertain and does not indicate functional vitamin B12 deficiency. We can not, however, exclude the possibility of a genetically induced dysfunction of the homocysteine metabolism relevant for the development of neuroinflammation/degeneration. O ur findings indicate that, regardless of a significant increase in plasma tHcy in MS patients, the MS disease is not generally associated with vitamin B12 deficiency since we did not find any other factors indicating vitamin B12 deficiency. A nalysis of C SF MMA and C SF tHcy, which probably reflects the brain vitamin B12 status better than serum, are not warranted in MS. We conclude that B12 deficiency, in general, is not associated with MS.


2011 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 552-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regan L Bailey ◽  
Ralph Carmel ◽  
Ralph Green ◽  
Christine M Pfeiffer ◽  
Mary E Cogswell ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella H Haddad ◽  
Karen Jaceldo-Siegl ◽  
Keiji Oda ◽  
Gary E Fraser

ABSTRACT Background Elevated plasma methylmalonic acid (MMA) is a functional biomarker of vitamin B-12 status but limited information is available on its prevalence in US vegetarians. Objectives The study examines the prevalence of plasma MMA ≥0.27 µmol/L in those consuming vegetarian diets, its associations with vitamin B-12 intake and biomarkers, and the modifying effect of vegetarian patterns on these associations. Methods In this cross-sectional study (n = 785), concentrations of MMA, vitamin B-12, holotranscobalamin (holoTC), and homocysteine (Hcy) were determined in participants of the calibration substudy of the Adventist Health Study 2 (AHS-2). Vitamin B-12 intake from food, fortified food, and supplements was assessed by six 24-h recalls. Regression models were used to estimate ORs of having high MMA as related to vitamin B-12 status biomarkers, vitamin B-12 intake, and dietary pattern. Results The prevalence of low vitamin B-12 status defined by serum vitamin B-12 &lt;148 pmol/L, holoTC &lt;35 pmol/L, MMA ≥0.27 and ≥0.37 μmol/L, or Hcy ≥15 μmol/L, and the OR of having high MMA did not differ by dietary pattern, possibly due to intake from fortified food and supplements. Total daily vitamin B-12 intake in the second tertile range of 4.4–14.5 μg/d reduced the likelihood of elevated MMA by 69%; and a doubling of vitamin B-12 intake was associated with a 4.3% decrease in plasma MMA. The association between log plasma MMA and biomarkers was modified by diet, with the vegan pattern showing an ∼3-fold stronger association with log serum vitamin B-12 and Hcy than did the nonvegetarian pattern. Conclusions The prevalence of vitamin B-12 intake &lt;2.0 μg/d was 15.2% in vegans, 10.6% in lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and 6.5% in nonvegetarians. Given the irreversible neurological consequences of vitamin B-12 inadequacy, the importance of regular supplemental vitamin B-12 intake in adult and elderly individuals is stressed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Zhang ◽  
Xingbing Jin ◽  
Yaqin Wang ◽  
Yan He ◽  
Haoyu Li

Abstract Background: Adaptor protein complex-4 (AP-4), a heterotetrameric protein complex, plays an important role in vesicle trafficking in neurons. Mutations in genes affecting different subunits of AP-4, including AP4B1, AP4E1, AP4S1, and AP4M1, have been recently associated with spastic tetraplegia, developmental delay and intellectual disability (ID).Case presentation: We report on a Chinese patient with infantile spasms, infantile hypotonia and global developmental delay. Exome sequencing showed compound heterozygous mutations in AP4M1(c.19A>G, p.I7V and c.137C>T, p.P46L).Conclusions: This is the first case of biallelic missense variants lay on the region encoding LH domain, which is important for membrane trafficking via protein–protein and intramolecular binding specificities. Our study expands the molecular spectrum associated with AP-4 deficiency syndrome, and reviews the clinical features of reported patients with AP4M1 mutations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Mineva ◽  
Maya Sternberg ◽  
Renee Storandt ◽  
Regan Bailey ◽  
Christine Pfeiffer

Abstract Objectives To evaluate vitamin B-12 status of U.S. adults. High serum methylmalonic acid (MMA) is a specific functional indicator of low vitamin B-12 status, but it is not sensitive because concentrations also increase with impaired renal function. Our goal was to describe the distribution of serum vitamin B-12 and MMA in U.S. adults, and estimate age-specific reference intervals for serum MMA in a subpopulation with replete vitamin B-12 status and normal renal function. Methods We examined cross-sectional data for serum vitamin B-12 and MMA in U.S. adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011–2014. Vitamin B-12 was assessed by electrochemiluminescence assay and MMA by isotope-dilution LC-MS/MS. Results In both bivariate and multivariate analysis age, race/Hispanic origin, and vitamin B-12 supplementation were generally significantly associated with serum vitamin B-12 and MMA concentrations before and after controlling for additional covariates. We observed higher serum vitamin B-12 and MMA concentrations in persons ≥60 y compared with younger age groups. Non-Hispanic white persons had lower vitamin B-12 and higher MMA concentrations compared with non-Hispanic black persons. Shorter fasting times and impaired renal function were significantly associated with higher serum MMA concentrations, but not with serum vitamin B-12 concentrations after controlling for covariates. The central 95% reference intervals for serum vitamin B-12 and MMA concentrations were wider for persons ≥60 y compared with younger age groups. Compared with the overall population, the central 95% reference interval for serum MMA concentrations was considerably narrower for a vitamin B-12 replete subpopulation with normal renal function, but still age-dependent. Serum vitamin B-12 showed little, while serum MMA showed notable increases with impaired renal function. Conclusions The higher serum MMA concentrations throughout the entire distribution in older persons who are vitamin B-12 replete and have normal renal function indicate the need for age-specific MMA reference intervals to better interpret the vitamin B-12 status in clinical and epidemiologic research. Funding Sources This work was supported by direct appropriations from U.S. Congress.


2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina M Mineva ◽  
Maya R Sternberg ◽  
Mindy Zhang ◽  
Yutaka Aoki ◽  
Renee Storandt ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundSerum vitamin B-12 is measured to evaluate vitamin B-12 status. Serum methylmalonic acid (MMA) is a specific functional indicator of vitamin B-12 status; however, concentrations increase with impaired renal function.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the distribution of serum vitamin B-12 and MMA in US adults, and estimate age-specific reference intervals for serum MMA in a healthy subpopulation with replete vitamin B-12 status and normal renal function.MethodsWe examined cross-sectional data for serum vitamin B-12 and MMA in adults participating in the NHANES from 2011 to 2014. Vitamin B-12 was measured by electrochemiluminescence assay and MMA by isotope-dilution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.ResultsIn both bivariate and multivariate analyses, age, race/Hispanic origin, and vitamin B-12 supplement use were generally significantly associated with serum vitamin B-12 and MMA concentrations. Serum MMA concentrations increased with age, particularly in persons aged ≥70 y. Non-Hispanic white persons had lower vitamin B-12 and higher MMA concentrations than non-Hispanic black persons. Shorter fasting times and impaired renal function were significantly associated with higher serum MMA concentrations, but not with serum vitamin B-12 concentrations after controlling for covariates. The central 95% reference intervals for serum vitamin B-12 and MMA concentrations were widest for persons aged ≥70 y compared with younger age groups. Compared with the overall population, the central 95% reference intervals for serum MMA concentrations were considerably narrower for a vitamin B-12–replete subpopulation with normal renal function, but still age-dependent. Serum vitamin B-12 showed little, whereas serum MMA showed notable, increases with impaired renal function.ConclusionsThe higher serum MMA concentrations throughout the entire distribution in older persons (especially persons aged ≥70 y) who are vitamin B-12–replete and have normal renal function indicate the need for age-specific MMA reference intervals to better interpret vitamin B-12 status in epidemiologic research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1824-1824
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Mineva ◽  
Maya Sternberg ◽  
Christine M Pfeiffer

Abstract Objectives High blood methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine (tHcy) and low serum B-12 and holotranscobalamin (holoTC) concentrations indicate vitamin B-12 deficiency. The diagnosis is often contradictory when using any test independently. A mathematical model including all 4 biomarkers, named combined indicator of vitamin B-12 status (cB12), has been proposed. Our goal was to describe cB12 in US adults and estimate the prevalence of low or transitional vitamin B-12 status compared to conventional single biomarkers. Methods We assessed cB12 in persons ≥20 y participating in NHANES from 1999 to 2004 from 3 biomarkers: serum vitamin B-12, MMA, and plasma tHcy. Results The following groups had significantly lower cB12: persons ≥70 y compared with younger age groups, males compared with females, non-Hispanic whites compared with non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans, and non-users of vitamin B-12 containing supplements compared with users. Shorter fasting times and impaired renal function also resulted in lower cB12. There was a strong significant association of cB12 with serum vitamin B-12 (Spearman r = 0.75), MMA (r = −0.70), and tHcy concentrations (r = −0.59). The prevalence of vitamin B-12 deficiency varied with the biomarker and cutoff used: 2.2% and 13% for serum vitamin B-12 &lt; 148 and 148 − 222 pmol/L, respectively; 6.0% for MMA exceeding an age-specific cutoff between 250 and 320 nmol/L; and 8.4% for tHcy &gt; 13 μmol/L. Using the proposed cB12 cutoff of &lt; −0.5, 2.7% of adults had “low or transitional vitamin B-12 status”. Conclusions Based on the new combined indicator using 3 biomarkers a larger portion of US adults had adequate vitamin B-12 status (97%) compared to conventional single biomarkers (between 85% and 94%), likely indicating the higher specificity of cB12. It is unclear whether the availability of holoTC data would change these findings. Funding Sources This work was supported by direct appropriations from US Congress.


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