The efficacy was particularly highlighted when looking at the marked improvement in serum vitamin B12 levels and hematological parameters , for example hemoglobin level , mean erythrocyte cell volume and reticulocyte count .
Oral cobalamin treatment avoids the discomfort , inconvenience and cost of monthly injections .
TAKE HOME MESSAGE Our experience and the present analysis support the use of oral cobalamin therapy in clinical practice
IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD Cobalamin ( vitamin B12 ) deficiency is particularly common in the elderly ( > 15 % ) .
Management of cobalamin deficiency with cobalamin injections is well codified at present , but new routes of cobalamin administration ( oral and nasal ) are being studied , especially oral cobalamin therapy for food-cobalamin malabsorption .
AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW The objective of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of oral cobalamin treatment in elderly patients .
Hematological response to short-term oral cyanocobalamin therapy for the treatment of cobalamin deficiencies in elderly patients.
OBJECTIVES The aim of this trial was to demonstrate the efficacy of one month of oral cobalamin ( vitamin B12 ) therapy in elderly patients with cobalamin deficiency related to food-cobalamin malabsorption ( FCM ) . PATIENTS AND METHOD Twenty elderly patients ( mean age : 78+/-17 years ) with established cobalamin deficiency related to FCM were included in an open-label , non-r and omized , non-placebo trial . They were treated with a maximum of 1,000 microgram per day of oral crystalline cyanocobalamin for at least 1 month . Serum cobalamin levels ( primary endpoint ) , blood count abnormalities and reticulocytes count ( secondary endpoints ) were determined at baseline and during the first month of treatment . RESULTS 85 % of the patients normalized their serum cobalamin levels with a mean increase of+167 pg/ml ( p<0.001 compared with baseline ) . 100 % of the patients corrected their initial macrocytosis and 25 % their anemia ; 100 % of the patients had medullar regeneration with a mean increase of reticulocytes count of 32+/-11.3 x 106/l ( p=0.03 compared with baseline ) . CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the view that one month of oral crystalline cyanocobalamin is effective to correct serum vitamin B12 levels and to obtain hematological responses in elderly patients with cobalamin deficiency related to FCM
The efficacy was particularly highlighted when looking at the marked improvement in serum vitamin B12 levels and hematological parameters , for example hemoglobin level , mean erythrocyte cell volume and reticulocyte count .
Oral cobalamin treatment avoids the discomfort , inconvenience and cost of monthly injections .
TAKE HOME MESSAGE Our experience and the present analysis support the use of oral cobalamin therapy in clinical practice
IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD Cobalamin ( vitamin B12 ) deficiency is particularly common in the elderly ( > 15 % ) .
Management of cobalamin deficiency with cobalamin injections is well codified at present , but new routes of cobalamin administration ( oral and nasal ) are being studied , especially oral cobalamin therapy for food-cobalamin malabsorption .
AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW The objective of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of oral cobalamin treatment in elderly patients .