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A new study has identified a compelling link between vitamin B12 deficiency and chronic inflammation, which is associated with a range of health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. The research examined the effects of circulating B12 concentration on the levels of two key inflammatory markers in both humans and mice. Vitamin B12, an essential nutrient with roles in various physiological processes, is known to be critical for overall health. Its deficiency can be the result of dietary insufficiency or inefficient absorption in the body. This can lead to a range of complications, including neurological disorders. While previous...

The German government has warned that in some circumstances a vegan diet can be harmful to a person’s health, as the non-meat, non-dairy lifestyle experiences a boom in Berlin. “A purely plant-based diet makes it more difficult to give the body some of the important nutrients it needs,” the government statement from last week reads. Vitamin B12 is a particularly important nutrient that is almost exclusively present in meat, the statement adds, explaining that the only way vegans can consume it is by taking supplementary pills. …

CARDIFF, Wales, April 23 (UPI) -- Researchers in Wales and England have developed a highly effective asthma drug, and in the process may have uncovered the disorder's root cause. In a recent study, scientists explored the breathing disorder via both mouse and human airway models, using tissue from asthmatic and non-asthmatic people. Their work highlighted the body's calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) as the main culprit in triggering asthma symptoms -- airway narrowing, airway twitchiness and inflammation. Much as the immune system of allergy patients overreacts to pollen or other particulates, the research models showed CaSR went into overdrive when asthmatic...

UK researchers have found that high doses B-vitamins – including folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 – can slow down brain tissue atrophy, a wasting process associated with Alzheimer’s disease.David Smith of the University of Oxford, and colleagues, used randomised controlled trials to test the long-term effects of B-vitamins on the brain health of elderly people with mild cognitive impairment, who were classed as having an increased risk of dementia. They found the brains of those treated with B-vitamins shrank less over a two year period than those given a placebo, and experienced less atrophy in regions of grey...

Tired? Depressed? Forgetting things? Who isn't these days? Those are also symptoms of a deficiency of B12, a key nutrient needed to make red blood cells and DNA and keep the nervous system working right..... "B12 deficiency is much more common than the textbooks and journal articles say it is," says Alan Pocinki, an internist in Washington D.C., who routinely tests his patients who fall into those categories. He also notes that since the Metformin connection was discovered only recently,

Evidence is mounting that levels of vitamin B12 may be connected to the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. A study of 271 Finns found those with the highest levels were the least likely to be diagnosed with dementia. However, an Alzheimer's charity said despite the findings, published in the journal Neurology, it was "too early" to think about taking supplements. It called for more research into the protective power of vitamins such as B12 - found in meat, fish and eggs. Vitamin B12 can also be found in milk and some fortified cereals.

LONDON (Reuters) – Patients treated over long periods with metformin, a common drug for diabetes, are at risk of developing vitamin B12 deficiency which is also likely to get worse over time, according to a study published Friday. Dutch scientists who carried out the study said the findings suggest that regular checking of vitamin B-12 levels during long-term metformin treatment should be "strongly considered" to try to prevent deficiency and its effects. Vitamin B12 is essential to maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells. It is found in meat, dairy products, eggs, fish, shellfish and fortified breakfast cereals, and...

Experimental animal studies have shown that H. pylori shares several antigenic regions in common with acid secreting cells in gastric mucosa. Antibodies triggered by H. pylori destroy acid secreting cells due this antigenic mimicry. H. pylori infection is very common in humans, and about half of the infected patients develop atrophic changes over the years. In end stage severe atrophy, H. pylori disappears and signs of a previous infection are difficult to detect. This research, lead by Dr. L Veijola and her colleagues in the University of Helsinki, Finland, has recently been published on January 7 , 2010 in World...

Enlarge ImageTriple trouble. An ability to process vitamin B-12 (3D model pictured) can lead to three different syndromes. Credit: Karl Harrison/3Dchem.com Scientists may have finally cracked a long-standing mystery about a rare genetic disorder--the inability to break down vitamin B-12--that can lead to three devastating conditions. A new study has linked them to mutations in different places on the same gene. At the same time, the finding could help solve the puzzle of how healthy people process the essential nutrient. Vitamin B-12 plays a critical role in nerve function, the production of red blood cells and DNA, and other...

Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Decrease Risk of Hip Fracture in Stroke Patients LibrariesMedical News   KeywordsFOLATE FOLIC ACID VITAMIN B12 HIP FRACTURE STROKE PATIENTS OSTEOPOROSIS Contact InformationAvailable for logged-in reporters only DescriptionPatients who took folic acid and vitamin B12 after their stroke had a reduced risk of hip fracture compared to patients who took placebo, according to an article. Newswise — Patients who took folic acid and vitamin B12 after their stroke had a reduced risk of hip fracture compared to patients who took placebo, according to an article in the March 2 issue of JAMA.According to background information in...

- 03-22-2004, 07:40 PM By Gilien Silsby and Gia Scafidi When our human ancestors started eating meat, evolution served up a healthy bonus - the development of genes that offset high cholesterol and chronic diseases associated with a meat-rich diet, according to a new USC study. Those ancestors also started living longer than ever before - an unexpected evolutionary twist. The research by USC professors Caleb Finch and Craig Stanford appeared in the Quarterly Review of Biology. "At some point - probably about 2 1/2 million years ago - meat eating became important to humans," said Stanford, chair of the...