Pediatrics & Therapeutics
Open Access

Abstract

Vitamin B12 Deficiency: an Update for the General Paediatrician

Smith J ,David Coman *

Vitamin B12 deficiency is an important and possibly under recognised cause of neurological morbidity in infants. The causes of infantile vitamin B12 deficiency are heterogeneous, ranging from dietary deficiency in a breast feeding mother to specific inborn errors of metabolism. In this brief review we discuss the clinical presentations of vitamin B12 deficiency, provide a practical approach to the investigation and management of infantile vitamin B12 deficiency, and consider specific neurometabolic reasons why the infantile central nervous system is vulnerable to irreversible damage from Vitamin B12 deficiency.