Difference between pernicious anemia and B12 deficiency?

[Cooper27]

Does anyone know what the difference is? Are they one and the same, or can you have PA despite B12 in range?

It's just curiosity I've never understood the difference!

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

You'd probably get a definitive answer on the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum on Health Unlocked

healthunlocked.com/pasoc

[scotkaz]

I have pernicious Anemia. I am missing the intrinsic factor which means my body cannot absorb B12. the only way to get it is B12 injections forever. If you are low on B12 then tablets will help sort that out.

[scotkaz in reply to scotkaz]

People who have pernicious anemia can't absorb enough vitamin B12 from food. This is because they lack intrinsic (in-TRIN-sik) factor, a protein made in the stomach. A lack of this protein leads to vitamin B12 deficiency. ... Often though, vitamin B12 deficiency due to other causes also is called pernicious anemia.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

[Cooper27 in reply to scotkaz]

Thanks, I think that's what I thought - it is something that is there, whether or not you get your B12 in range.

I think the way my B12 has nose dived since I stopped supplements might mean I should be tested for pernicious anemia, but my B12 is still in range at the moment.

[Marz in reply to Cooper27]

Do you have gut issues beyond the stomach ? B12 is metabolised in the Terminal Ileum where it then finds its way back to the liver to be re-cycled. As millions of people have gut issues it follows that their B12 will be low - conditions like IBS - Crohns - Colitis - Diverticulitis and so on - can all affect the uptake in addition to the Low stomach acid caused by PA ...

[Cooper27 in reply to Marz]

I have gut candida, but don't have any other conditions.

I think I have low stomach acid though, so I'm taking apple cider vinegar. I'm going to test my levels next month again, and if B12 has gone down any more, I'll consider seeing my GP then.

[Marz in reply to Cooper27]

The blood test for B12 is only a guide as it tests both the bound and unbound B12 floating in your blood. Only 20% of your result is available to be transported to the cells where it is needed. You would need to be off supplements for B12 for several months to have a true base line reading ...

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

Scroll down in the above link to read the signs and symptoms of Low B12. If you have a few then I would supplement anyway and not be too concerned with testing.

[Angel_of_the_North]

PA is a disease which will (probably) never go away and means that you can't absorb B12 from food however much you take in, so you need to take B12 by injection for ever. B12 deficiency can be caused by diet or bad absorption, but it curable when you remove the cause.

[Gambit62]

PA is an auto-immune condition affecting the gut which results in the body being unable to use the ileum to absorb B12 (which is where most B12 is absorbed - generally 99%) - though small amounts are absorbed elsewhere in the gut.

Generally your body regulates B12 levels in blood very well using stores in the liver - however the body uses absorption in the ileum as part of the release mechanism so if you have an absorption problem this doesn't work.

Pernicious Anaemia is a misnomer coming from the fact that B12 deficiency was first observed as a particular form of anaemia in which cells are larger and rounder than they should be (macrocytic anaemia). The patients then went on to develop neurological problems and die. However, a few hundred years when B12 was identified it was realised that the problem was actually lack of B12 and that macrocytic anaemia is only one of the symptoms.

There are other absorption problems that will lead to a B12 deficiency. Lack of B12 in the diet (eg strict vegan) will also result in B12 deficiency.