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Cobalamin deficiency and related disorders in infancy and childhood

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Abstract

This review discusses recent knowledge of the many causes of cobalamin deficiency in infancy and childhood. These causes are classified as (1) inadequate intake, (2) inadequate absorption and (3) inadequate utilisation. It is emphasized that the ‘serum B12’ may be normal in cases of the grossest derangement of B12 metabolism, with extreme functional deficiency of this group of vitamins (the cobalamins). For completeness, causes of folate deficiency and other conditions causing megaloblastosis in children are also briefly outlined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Chemical Pathology, The Vincent Square Laboratories of Westminster Hospital, 124, Vauxhall Bridge Road, SW1V 2RH, London, England

    D. M. Matthews & J. C. Linnell

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  1. D. M. Matthews
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  2. J. C. Linnell
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Curriculum vitae. Professor David M. Matthews was born in 1926 in High Wycombe, England. He graduated in Medicine at the University of London in 1949, and joined the Department of Chemical Pathology of the Westminster Medical School, London, in 1965. In 1970 he was appointed head of the newly formed Department of Experimental Chemical Pathology at the Westminster Medical School. He has worked on cobalamin metabolism for many years, since 1966 in collaboration with Dr. J. C. Linnell. His other main research interest is in the intestinal absorption of peptides in man and animals.

Curriculum vitae. John C. Linnell was born in 1934 in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, England. He graduated in Physiology and Chemistry at the University of London in 1961 and received his Doctorate in Biochemistry in 1974. After some years in pharmaceutical research, he joined the Department of Chemical Pathology of the Westminster Medical School, London, in 1966 and since then has worked on cobalamin metabolism, developing a micromethod for estimation of coenzyme or other forms of cobalamin and investigation of inborn metabolic errors.

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Matthews, D.M., Linnell, J.C. Cobalamin deficiency and related disorders in infancy and childhood. Eur J Pediatr 138, 6–16 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00442320

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