title: Dementia patients with low serum cobalamin concentration: relationship to atrophic gastritis.
abstract: Serum concentrations of group I pepsinogens (pepsinogen-I) and gastrin were determined in patients with dementia disorders in order to assess the relationship, if any, between these indices of gastric mucosal function and serum cobalamin (vitamin B12) levels. A significant positive correlation between pepsinogen-I and B12 and, as expected, an inverse relationship between gastrin and pepsinogen-I concentrations was found, indicating that vitamin B12 deficiency was mainly determined by gastric mucosal atrophy (atrophic gastritis) in this West-Swedish sample of patients with dementia disorders. Patients with low B12 but normal gastrin and pepsinogen-I concentrations should, therefore, be further evaluated for possible nutritional deficiency, as well as nongastric causes of poor B12 assimilation from the diet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, St. Jörgen Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Regland
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Gottfries
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lindstedt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D005755:Gastrins / Q000097:blood; D005757:Gastritis, Atrophic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D008297:Male; D010435:Pepsinogens / Q000097:blood; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D005755:Gastrins; D010435:Pepsinogens; D014805:Vitamin B 12