Vitamin B12 Levels During Prolonged Treatment With Proton... : Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology (original) (raw)
Clinical Reviews: The Small Intestine, Nutrition, & Malabsorption
From the Northwestern Center for Clinical Research, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
Address correspondence and reprint requests Dr. Colin W. Howden, Northwestern Center for Clinical Research, Northwestern University, 680 N. Lakeshore Drive, Suite 1220, Chicago, IL 60611; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Reduced serum vitamin B12 (cobalamin) levels have been documented occasionally during long-term treatment with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in selected groups of patients. This has largely been confined to patients being treated for Zollinger-Ellison syndrome who have sustained drug-induced achlorhydria, which does not ordinarily occur during treatment with a PPI. An appreciation of normal cobalamin metabolism and the pharmacological action of the PPIs adequately explain the mechanism for this reduction. PPIs do not promote the development of pernicious anemia.
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