Can Someone Explain this Paper? - Pernicious Anaemi...

Pernicious Anaemia Society

32,672 members24,065 posts

Can Someone Explain this Paper?

MoKayD profile image
9 Replies

I'm always tweaking my sleep issues and have recently started taking glycine supplements at night. They really seem to help me stay asleep all night. Anyway, just for the heck of it, I googled glycine/B12 deficiency and found a couple scientific papers (most pertaining to chickens) and I found this one cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-867...

It's way over my head but the title leads me to believe glycine has something to do with B12 deficiency. Can one of you who are much smarter than myself explain what it says? Thank you.

Written by
MoKayD profile image
MoKayD
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
9 Replies
Technoid profile image
Technoid

Yes Glycine and the closely related Serine are very important to B12 via the Folate cycle.

First, some dense biochemistry 😅

"The folate cycle provides one-carbon units for an extensive metabolic network that fuels the methionine cycle, transsulfuration pathway, de novo purine synthesis, thymidine production, serine, glycine, glutathione, and NADPH pools, and thereby regulates cellular redox state, growth, and proliferation"

nature.com/articles/s41467-...

"While various metabolites can donate methyl groups to THF, serine and glycine are the major sources of 1C units. Serine catabolism initiated by serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) transfers the γ-carbon amino acid side chain to THF, forming glycine and 5,10-methylene-THF (me-THF) "

...

"Glycine generated by this reaction can also be catabolized to me-THF in the mitochondria"

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

So, if you check out this diagram:

mdpi.com/jcm/jcm-10-01081/a...

you will see that when the THF form of folate (at the top of the folate cycle) is converted into the next stage : 5,10-CH2-THF (5-10 methylene tetrahydrofolate), it takes a methyl group (CH3) from Serine, which becomes Glycine. So when the folate cycle is impaired, it seems likely that less Glycine would be created by the folate cycle.

In addition , as you have found, there is some evidence it may benefit sleep:

papers:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/255...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/222...

Technoid profile image
Technoid in reply toTechnoid

The paper you linked has nothing unusual to say about Glycine but this CLYBL gene is interesting and does prompt thoughts about testing for this as an early indicator of disproportionate risk for B12 deficiency.

MoKayD profile image
MoKayD in reply toTechnoid

So, when the folate cycle is impaired that could be the cause of insomnia and or difficulty processing B12?

Technoid profile image
Technoid in reply toMoKayD

I gather that folate being too low OR too high can both cause insomnia. When I said impaired the folate cycle, I meant that if B12 was deficient, the folate cycle would be impaired due to lack of sufficient methylcobalamin. This shouldnt be the case if your deficiency is being adequately treated.

MoKayD profile image
MoKayD in reply toTechnoid

Thank you so much for your help. This is very interesting. When I first started receiving B12 shots I would have insomnia for the first couple of nights after the injection. That stopped after 6 months and now I sleep better the night after I get a shot.

ACritical profile image
ACritical in reply toMoKayD

I always sleep better after Hydroxocobalamin injection, it works for max 5 nights, then the sleep is interrupted for 2-3 hrs each night after which I sometimes fall asleep again. I inject once a week, sometimes earlier, sometimes later. 10 days. Depending how busy/ physically I have been.

MoKayD profile image
MoKayD in reply toACritical

That sounds like me. I've tried just about everything to get back to sleep after waking up at night. Some things seem to work for a while and then they stop. My list of fixes includes; magnesium/calcium supplements, iron supplements, glycine supplements, bone broth, ginger tea, chamomile tea, listening to books, reading books with a night light, having a light snack, tapping, avoiding blue light before bed, acupressure, etc. I wish I could find something that would work consistently.

Technoid profile image
Technoid in reply toMoKayD

New Scientist article on insomnia:

newscientist.com/article/23...

MoKayD profile image
MoKayD in reply toTechnoid

Thank you so much for sending me this link. I am extraordinarily gifted when it comes to ruminating. This treatment sounds like exactly what I need. I found a couple of psychiatrists in my area who offer MBTI treatment. I'll be calling them today. Thank you!

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

I'm so confused can someone explain???

Ok so Iv had endoscopy results, abdominal MRI and both have come back clear with just inflammation...
Dani82 profile image

Paper on the design of B12 deficiency treatment protocols

This might be one of the most fascinating papers I've read on B12 deficiency and treatment, with...
Technoid profile image

B12 results-please can someone advise?

B12/folate level  Serum vitamin B12 level > 2000 pg/mL [191.0 - 663.0]; Above high reference......
Milsean profile image

Paper: elevated b12 bound to immunoglobulins masking B12 deficiency

Latest paper from Wolffenbuttel of "The many faces of cobalamin deficiency" fame. Fascinating!...
jade_s profile image

Paper preprint: Transcobalamin Receptor Autoantibodies in Central Vitamin B12 Deficiency

The following paper is a preprint, which means it has not been peer reviewed yet....
jade_s profile image

Moderation team

See all
Gambit62 profile image
Gambit62Administrator
Foggyme profile image
FoggymeAdministrator
taka profile image
takaAdministrator

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.