B 12 deficiency - does it exist?

Abstract

Recent reports in the medical literature of neurological complications in cases of megaloblastic anaemia illustrate the importance of making an early diagnosis of vitamin 812 or folic acid deficiency. A group of workers at the Department of Neurology and Medicine at Tufts - New England Medical Center, Boston, describe the case of a 23-year-old woman with pernicious anaemia who demonstrated an unusually rapid and severe course of neurologic deterioration. She had taken folic acid intermittently for "mild anaemia" for one year before presentation. Diarrhoea developed, followed by malaise, weakness, myalgia, anorexia, confusion and drowsiness.