title: Effect of therapy with vitamin B12 and folic acid on elderly patients with low concentrations of serum vitamin B12 or erythrocyte folate but normal blood counts.
abstract: To help understand the haematological significance of the low concentrations of serum vitamin B12 and erythrocyte folate occurring in elderly patients, 17 acute admissions to a geriatric unit with a low concentration of serum vitamin B12 or erythrocyte folate but a normal blood count were treated with vitamin B12 and folic acid for 3 months. Bone marrow deoxyuridine suppression was abnormal in 3 of these 17 patients, 2 of whom also had megaloblastic change in the marrow. With treatment, the MCV fell in 13 of the 17, and the average MCV fell from 90.5 to 87.9 fl (p = 0.007), but the mean Hb did not change. Ten untreated similar patients showed no change in their MCV over the same period, but the mean Hb fell from 14.0 to 13.1 g/dl (p = 0.04). Thus the low concentrations of serum vitamin B12 or erythrocyte folate found in approximately a quarter of acutely admitted elderly patients may indicate true tissue deficiency of these vitamins, even when the blood count is normal.
mesh_terms: D001772:Blood Cell Count; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12