How you know what is happening at cell level

[suresh786]

If b12 reach to blood then why it would not reach to cell or it takes time to reach to the cell level?

Is symptoms only way to know that its not reaching to cell level

[fbirder]

To get the B12 from your blood to the places in the cell where it's needed is a fairly complex process which still isn't fully understood. However, it's possible to tell if it is getting there by looking at some of the chemicals used up in the reactions mediated by b12.

B12 has two main jobs in the cell - one of them uses up a chemical called methylmalonic acid (MMA) the other uses up homocysteine (hCys). If the B12 isn't getting from the blood to the right places in the cell then one, or both, of these chemicals will not be used up and the amounts in the cell (and in the blood) will increase.

So a blood test for MMA and/or hCys can tell if the B12 is doing what it's supposed to be doing. If the levels of the two chemicals are normal then B12 is working properly. If the levels are raised then one explanation is that B12 isn't working properly (there are other possibilities - MMA can increase because of kidney disease, hCys can increase if folate is low).

But the key is that if either MMA or hCys is low then you know that B12 is definitely getting into the cell.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to fbirder]

Thanks for that very lucid explanation fbirder

[Aktop in reply to clivealive]

My doctor recommends the methylcabalamin/adenosylcobalamin B12, it is more bioavailable to cells than the cynocobalamin.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Aktop]

Are you in the UK Aktop ?

[fbirder in reply to Aktop]

all types of B12 will enter the cell via the same mechanism, with the same 'bioavailability'. The first thing that happens in the cell is that the enzyme MMACHC will remove the top ligand (methyl, hydroxo, cyano, or adenosyl) to form cobal(II)alamin.

The cob(II)alamin will then have a methyl or adenosyl group added, depending on what it's going to be used for.