Am looking for some advice from a medical professional, as a registered nurse I have recently undertaken a course on vitamin b12 administration and its benefits. During my course I was told that vit b12 injections were beneficial for patients with NAFL but one person on the course questioned this stating she was told it wasnt to be given to patients with NAFL. Can anyone please clarify as I have always been lead to believe that patients with NAFL were actually more prone to a deficiency in vit b12 therefore b12 injections would be beneficial not the other way round!
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Aliskindeep
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I would also like to know this as I have PA and NAFL and it seems to be getting worse , I’ve been having b12 jabs for over 20 years but NAFL only diagnosed a year ago
I'm afraid I'm not a medical professional but I can assure you that in the veterinary profession, first line treatment for animals with fatty liver syndrome is B12 injections.
It is usually very effective with the first signs of improvement seen within a few hours leading to a permanent cure.
Other liver problems, eg oak leaf and laurel leaf poisoning, are also treated this way. This is usually effective too, although outcomes are dependent on the severity of the poisoning and how quickly a diagnosis is reached and the B12 given.
(This is also applicable to ruminants who would normally get plenty of B12 from the action of the microbes in their rumen - hence why the best sources of B12 for humans is beef, lamb and dairy products. They need a high level boost of B12 to get the liver working again properly).
this forum isn't for medical professionals. It is a support forum for patients.
I am going to close the post to further responses to stop people referring to medical professionals as it is against forum rules to discuss specific professionals in this way.
You are free to post with your personal questions around PA and NAFL (Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver disease).
Some thoughts in relation to your questions
B12 isn't toxic.
Liver disease can cause B12 dumping which will result in raised serum B12 levels, which can lead to functional B12 deficiency in significant numbers of people (about 30%). Functional B12 deficiency is when there isn't enough B12 getting through to cells that need to use it. The exact mechanism that causes this isn't understood but it seems to be a response that makes the process allowing transfer of B12 from blood to cell less efficient as it seems to be treatable by raising serum B12 even higher.
Functional B12 deficiency is a recognised symptom of liver disease and kidney disease - two conditions that can result in raised serum B12 levels.
The liver is where B12 is stored and is what a person without absorption problems will use to regulate B12 levels where right for them. The mechanism for releasing B12 stores depends on the same mechanism used to absorb B12 so this mechanism becomes ineffective. If there livers ability to store B12 has been damaged as a result of NAFL then the patient may need help to regulate serum B12 levels in another way - in theory though this could be done with oral supplements unless absorbtion has been impaired.
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