High-dose vitamin B12 for at-home prevention and reversal of Alzheimer's disease and other diseases

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, May, 2006 by Joseph G. Hattersley

* AIDS (Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome) (38)

* Premature aging (39)

* Multiple sclerosis (40,41) Symptoms of MS have been noted in persons with a vitamin B12 deficiency prior to evidence of megaloblastic anemia. There is a remarkable epidemiologic similarity between MS and pernicious anemia, and similar HLA (human lymphocyte antigens) are suggested for the association of the two conditions.

* Alzheimer's mimicking and non-Alzheimer's dementia (42)

Intramuscular injection of B12 also has yielded seeming miracle cures in still other desperate illnesses. In numerous cases of patients with violent behavior, for instance, when B12 was replenished (with or without other changes in life), violent behavior disappeared. (45-49)

"The only question now," writes Dommisse, "is what proportion of cases of mood-disorder is caused by B12-deficiency and what percentage is idiopathic." Almost all of his uni- and bipolar patients have had B12 levels in the lowest one-third of the so-called normal (to prevent pernicious anemia) range, levels that he now regards as deficient for adequate affective, cognitive, and other mental functions. When their levels have been raised to the highest one-third of that "normal" range, every one of those patients felt better. For some patients, who came out of their depression or mood-swing disorder, this was the only new or different treatment they received. In subsequent instances when their affective disorder worsened, B12 levels had again dropped. So, would restoring ample serum B12 levels prevent many or most of those adverse conditions? Evidence shown below, cautiously suggests Dr. Dommisse, means, "Yes, at least in the case of depression."

There is no maximum allowable age to begin B12 therapy. A friend recently told me her 90-year-old mother is beginning to think less clearly than in the past, and to feel a bit depressed. I suggested, "If your dear mother would like to stop her incipient downward slide, let her start the therapy." God never wrote on tablets of stone that 90 years of age is too old to turn one's health around and begin to make life fun again.

It is important to note that having a quality laboratory measure serum B12 is an essential part of the replenishment process. Simply supplementing B12 "in the dark" could miss the mark badly. And to really know the patient's whole picture, Sherry A. Rogers, MD, suggests the ION Panel (N.E.E.D.S.; 800-634-1380) is well worth its cost (currently, about $600). (50)

The normal range for serum B12, states Dr. Dommisse, should be defined as 600 to 2,000 pg/ml. Japan's "normal" range is 500-1,300. (51) According to Dommisse, this may explain why Japan has such a low rate of Alzheimer's dementia (52) compared to the United States. (53) By some estimates, as many as 80% of elderly American patients may share hidden B12 insufficiency. (54-56)

Also, B12 deficiency is common with folate deficiency in dementia (57-59) and worsens over time as the deficiency increases. (60) The impact was seen first on neuropsychiatric measures, where augmentation of B12 and folate materially improved scores on cognitive performance tests. (61,62)