how do i know pernicious anemia from just low b12

[weazle74]

if hemoglobin is good and my b12 is low .pernicious anemia is defferent from low b12 and how i know the defference of this two?

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi weazle74 currently there is a test for P.A called an Intrinsic Factor Antibody (IFA) test but unfortunately it is unreliable.

However the treatment for P.A. and B12 deficiency is virtually the same but should you prove positive for P.A. then injections will be for life.

I am not medically trained

[weazle74 in reply to clivealive]

dont have this test in cyprus i asked

[fbirder]

Pernicious Anaemia is one possible cause of B12. If you have PA then you will have low B12 and you will have the symptoms of low B12. To treat those symptoms you need to supplement with B12, no matter what the cause.

PA is caused by something called Autoimmune Metaplastic Gastric Atrophy, where the immune system attacks one type of cell in the stomach.

You can test for the antibodies produced by the immune system. There are two types, one that attacks Intrinsic Factor (the protein that carries B12 across the gut wall into the blood) and one that attacks the stomach cells themselves. One test is inaccurate because about half of people with PA test negative. The other is inaccurate because about 5 to 10% of healthy people have these antibodies.

You can examine the stomach from the inside. AMGA only attacks certain parts of the stomach, which will be obvious during a gastroscopy. And tissue sample collected during that process will show signs of metaplasia (the wrong types of cells growing in the stomach wall).

If you have low B12, positive for either of those antibody tests, localised gastric atrophy and signs of metaplasia then it's a near certainty that you have PA.