Description
Book SynopsisThis book could save you years of ill health! Vitamin B12 deficiency, often caused by pernicious anaemia, can be a devastating condition if left untreated, leading to irreversible nerve damage and disability after years of exhaustion and mental 'fog'. Its symptoms creep up on sufferers and are under-recognized by doctors; tests to confirm it and underlying pernicious anaemia, are problematic. Martyn Hooper, the founder of the Pernicious Anaemia Society, now brings together vital information about the condition and real-life stories - including his own and those of many members of the Society - that will help sufferers and their friends and families recognize the condition and understand how best to tackle it. In particular, the book draws on the findings of a survey of Society members that give new clarity to the complex issues involved.
Trade Review"'This book is to be warmly welcomed. It is a vivid and very well-written account of a 'hidden chapter' in medicine that ought to be widely known among the public at large, among policy-makers, and among medical professionals. A major reappraisal of how we define, diagnose and treat B12-deficiency is needed, and this book is a trail-blazer for this mission.' A. David Smith, Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, UK, and Helga Refsum, Professor of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Norway, and Visiting Professor of Human Nutrition, University of Oxford, UK"
Table of Contents1. My story; 2. Blood, vitamins and B12; 3. Sources of B12; 4. The symptoms of B12 deficiency; 5. Problems with diagnosing B12 deficiency; 6. Pernicious anaemia, intrinsic factor and vitamin B12; 7. Problems with diagnosing pernicious anaemia; 8. Treating pernicious anaemia; 9. Sub-acute combined degeneration of the spinal cord secondary to pernicious anaemia; 10. The future.
