Vitamin B12 helps prevent canker sores

The painful condition known as recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), or canker sores, might be prevented by supplementing with vitamin B12 according to research published in the January/February issue of The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. The cause of RAS is unknown, although local trauma and stress have been proposed as the most likely triggers.

Dr Ilia Volko and colleagues at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Calit Health Services in Beer-Sheva, Israel gave 58 men and women with RAS 1,000 micrograms sublingual vitamin B12 or a placebo to be taken before sleep for six months. Blood samples were evaluated for serum vitamin B12 levels at the beginning of the study. Participants were instructed to keep an “Aphthous Ulcers Diary” which was reviewed monthly by the research staff. Duration of aphthous stomatitis episodes, monthly number of ulcers, and pain severity were tracked in each group.

During the last two months of the trial, the average duration of outbreaks, number of ulcers, and pain decreased in the group treated with vitamin B12. By the end of the treatment period, 74 percent of those who received vitamin B12 and 32 percent of those who received the placebo had achieved remission, defined as the absence of aphthous ulcers. No differences were observed in the treatment group between those with varying initial serum vitamin B12 levels. Continue Reading

B12 may help prevent brain shrinkage

In a study published in the September 9, 2008, issue of the journal Neurology®, researchers from Oxford University and the University of Oslo report an association between decreased levels of vitamin B12 and a decline in brain volume. Reduced brain volume, or brain atrophy, has been associated with Alzheimer's disease, and is used as a marker of the disease’s progression.

The study included 107 participants in the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Aging (OPTIMA), who did not have cognitive impairment upon enrollment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain, cognitive assessments, and physical examinations were conducted at the beginning of the study and annually over a five year period. Blood plasma samples collected upon enrollment and yearly thereafter were analyzed for folate, B12, homocysteine, and the vitamin B12 markers holotranscobalamin, transcobalamin saturation and methylmalonic acid.

Comparison of MRI images obtained at the beginning of the study with those scanned after five years found a greater amount of brain volume loss among participants with low plasma levels of vitamin B12. Subjects whose plasma B12 levels were among the lowest one-third of participants at less than 308 picomoles per liter had a six times greater adjusted risk of increased brain volume loss than those whose vitamin B12 levels were in the top two-thirds. Similar patterns were observed for holotranscobalamin and transcobalamin saturation. Continue Reading