Clinical and Brain Imaging Findings in a Child with Vitamin B12 Deficiency.
Paola FeracoFrancesca IncandelaRoberto FranceschiCesare GagliardoMaria BellizziPublished in: Pediatric reports (2021)
Vitamin B12 (Vit-B12) deficiency is a rare and treatable cause of failure to thrive and delayed development in infants who are exclusively breastfed. Apart from genetic causes, it can be related to a malabsorption syndrome or when the mother follows a strict vegetarian or vegan diet, causing a low hepatic storage of Vit-B12 in the infant at birth. As the neurological symptoms are nonspecific, a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam is usually performed to rule out primary causes of neurodevelopmental delay. Findings related to brain atrophy are usually observed. A favorable response is achieved with Vit-B12 therapy, and neurological symptoms dramatically improve within a few days after the treatment. We present the case of an infant with severe Vit-B12 deficiency, exclusively breastfed by his young vegan mother, and whose clinical symptoms together with MRI findings improved after treatment. Brain atrophy recovery after Vit-B12 therapy has been seldom documented.
Keyphrases
- magnetic resonance imaging
- resting state
- white matter
- cerebral ischemia
- contrast enhanced
- functional connectivity
- replacement therapy
- computed tomography
- mental health
- sleep quality
- pregnant women
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- magnetic resonance
- weight loss
- genome wide
- multiple sclerosis
- bone marrow
- cell therapy
- fluorescence imaging
- gestational age
- photodynamic therapy