Abstract
Heathcote and Mooney1 reported results from which they concluded that vitamin B12 is more efficacious therapeutically in patients with pernicious anaemia when given by mouth with five times its weight of glutamic acid than when given alone. This claim was based on the haematological responses of two patients. The observation suggested that glutamic acid may enhance the absorption of vitamin B12 from the gut in pernicious anaemia. If confirmed, this could have an important bearing on theories concerning the mechanism of the absorption of vitamin B12 from the gut. We therefore decided to see whether addition of glutamic acid to test doses of cyanocobalamin labelled with cobalt-58 influenced the absorption by patients with pernicious anaemia, using the total body counter described by Warner and Oliver2.
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References
Heathcote, J. G., and Mooney, F. S., Nature, 193, 380 (1962).
Warner, G. T., and Oliver, R., Phys. Med. Biol., 11, 83 (1966).
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SPRAY, G., WARNER, G. Failure of L-Glutamic Acid to increase Absorption of Vitamin B12 by Patients with Pernicious Anaemia. Nature 212, 947 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/212947a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/212947a0
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