Vitamin B12 is available for therapeutic use parenterally as either cyanocobalamin or hydroxocobalamin. [20] The two forms are equally useful in the treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency, and both are nontoxic (except for rare allergic reactions). Theoretical advantages exist to using hydroxocobalamin because it is retained better in the body and is more available to cells; however, both chemical forms of cobalamin provide prompt correction.
Cobalamin is available in a solution for injection in doses ranging from 100 to 1000 µg. Most of the injected doses in excess of 50 µg are rapidly excreted in the urine. Thus, when therapy is started, repeated doses are recommended in order to replenish body stores.
A number of regimens have been recommended. One regimen begins with daily subcutaneous administration for the first week. If significant reticulocytosis confirms that therapy is successful, doses are then administered twice weekly for another 4-5 weeks. After this period, 100 µg can be administered monthly by subcutaneous or intramuscular injection. Lifetime compliance is necessary. An alternative regimen involves weekly injections of 1000 µg of vitamin B12 for 5-6 weeks, followed by monthly injections.
Cobalamin deficiency–related neurological impairment can vary in clinical presentation, including acute combined system degeneration, peripheral neuropathy, and psychosis. These neuropathies should be treated more aggressively.
Response should be monitored by reticulocyte counts, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and an appropriate rise in hemoglobin levels. LDH levels decrease and hemoglobin levels increase by about 1 g/dL/wk. A rise in LDH might indicate a relapse.
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Pernicious anemia. The structure of cyanocobalamin is depicted. The cyanide (Cn) is in green. Other forms of cobalamin (Cbl) include hydroxocobalamin (OHCbl), methylcobalamin (MeCbl), and deoxyadenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl). In these forms, the beta-group is substituted for Cn. The corrin ring with a central cobalt atom is shown in red and the benzimidazole unit in blue. The corrin ring has 4 pyrroles, which bind to the cobalt atom. The fifth substituent is a derivative of dimethylbenzimidazole. The sixth substituent can be Cn, CC3, hydroxycorticosteroid (OH), or deoxyadenosyl. The cobalt atom can be in a +1, +2, or +3 oxidation state. In hydroxocobalamin, it is in the +3 state. The cobalt atom is reduced in a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)–dependent reaction to yield the active coenzyme. It catalyzes 2 types of reactions, which involve either rearrangements (conversion of l methylmalonyl coenzyme A [CoA] to succinyl CoA) or methylation (synthesis of methionine).
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Pernicious anemia. Inherited disorders of cobalamin (Cbl) metabolism are depicted. The numbers and letters correspond to the sites at which abnormalities have been identified, as follows: (1) absence of intrinsic factor (IF); (2) abnormal Cbl intestinal adsorption; and (3) abnormal transcobalamin II (TC II), (a) mitochondrial Cbl reduction (Cbl A), (b) cobalamin adenosyl transferase (Cbl B), (c and d) cytosolic Cbl metabolism (Cbl C and D), (e and g) methyl transferase Cbl utilization (Cbl E and G), and (f) lysosomal Cbl efflux (Cbl F).
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Pernicious anemia. Cobalamin (Cbl) is freed from meat in the acidic milieu of the stomach where it binds R factors in competition with intrinsic factor (IF). Cbl is freed from R factors in the duodenum by proteolytic digestion of the R factors by pancreatic enzymes. The IF-Cbl complex transits to the ileum where it is bound to ileal receptors. The IF-Cbl enters the ileal absorptive cell, and the Cbl is released and enters the plasma. In the plasma, the Cbl is bound to transcobalamin II (TC II), which delivers the complex to nonintestinal cells. In these cells, Cbl is freed from the transport protein.
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Peripheral smear of blood from a patient with pernicious anemia. Macrocytes are observed, and some of the red blood cells show ovalocytosis. A 6-lobed polymorphonuclear leucocyte is present.
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Bone marrow aspirate from a patient with untreated pernicious anemia. Megaloblastic maturation of erythroid precursors is shown. Two megaloblasts occupy the center of the slide with a megaloblastic normoblast above.
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Response to therapy with cobalamin (Cbl) in a previously untreated patient with pernicious anemia. A reticulocytosis occurs within 5 days after an injection of 1000 mcg of Cbl and lasts for about 2 weeks. The hemoglobin (Hgb) concentration increases at a slower rate because many of the reticulocytes are abnormal and do not survive as mature erythrocytes. After 1 or 2 weeks, the Hgb concentration increases about 1 g/dL per week.
