Pernicious Anaemia

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Pernicious anaemia and the discovery of vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is one of the eight water soluble B vitamins which are present in the world today. It is an extremely important vitamin which plays a key role in the formation of red blood cells and the proper functioning of the brain and central nervous system. When an inadequate amount of vitamin B12 is present in the body a disease known as pernicious anemia occurs. As a sufferer of pernicious anaemia I decided this topic would be a both interesting and appropriate one for me.
The discovery of vitamin B12 is both a striking and intriguing one as it was discovered by an accident, in an attempt to cure pernicious anaemia. In the 1850’s a man known as Thomas Addison …show more content…
Some of these tests include the Shilling test, a test which determines if the vitamin is being absorbed properly or not. The patient is given an oral dose of radioactive vitamin B12 and then accessing if urine radioactivity increases. However this is rarely used, predominantly because it is not a very safe method. Vitamin B12 deficiencies can also be diagnosed by carrying out a full blood count and blood smear of the individual. This allows one to examine the mean corpuscular volume (MCV and also the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). If the person has a high MCV) and a normal MCHC, the person is said to have pernicious anemia. Ones blood smear can also show megoblasts ( large erythroblasts) which is a common symptom of the disease. Other tests include a reticulocyte count. This test is carried out to see if red blood cells are being made at a normal rate in the blood marrow. The number of reticulocytes (immature red blood cells) in the blood determines the rate at which they are made and released by the bone marrow. An abnormal result may be due to the fact that the red blood cells have swelled due to lack of vitamin b12 in the diet. Also a blood test can be taken to identify the vitamin b12 level of the individual when other blood tests point towards a deficiency. Deficiency occurs when ones reading is less than 200 pg/mL and many symptoms can then occur. Although a test to determine the presence antibodies to parietal cells could point to a vitamin b12 deficiency, 10% of healthy individual’s acquire these antibodies. Therefore the test is not completely
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