# PREVALENCE AND SPECTRUM OF B12 DEFICIENCY IN THE AGED

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 1991 · $172,702

## Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Investigator's Abstract):; Dementing disorders in the elderly
exact a high cost in both human suffering and health care dollars and are
the leading cause of the loss of employability and independent living in
the older population.  It has been known for many years that vitamin B12
(cobalamin) deficiency can cause dementia and other neurobehavioral
symptoms which are indistinguishable from Alzheimer's disease.  Prospective
studies which employ specific methods of diagnosis investigating the role
of cobalamin deficiency in dementia are needed.  This proposal plans to
determine the prevalence of cobalamin deficiency in the following groups of
patients:  1) Unselected elderly patients; 2) patients presenting with
memory and movement disorders clinics; 3) patients admitted to state mental
hospitals; 4) residents of nursing homes.  Sensitive and specific gas
chromatography/mass spectrometry assays for serum methylmalonic acid and
homocysteine, two metabolites related to the two human cobalamin-dependent
enzymes, will be used to confirm tissue deficiency in patients with low
serum cobalamin levels.  A group of elderly patients and a group of
demented patients who are found to have low serum cobalamin levels will be
recruited for two prospective studies which evaluate the pattern of
hematologic, neurologic, radiographic, electroencephalographic and
neuropsychological abnormalities present at baseline and after 8 weeks, 6
months and one year of parenteral cobalamin therapy.  The patients in these
studies with low serum cobalamin levels and elevated methylmalonic acid
and/or homocysteine levels will be compared to the patients with low serum
cobalamin levels and normal metabolites and to a group of control patients
matched for age and sex without dementia or cobalamin deficiency.  The
prevalence of elevated cerebrospinal fluid methylmalonic acid levels will
be evaluated in patients with low serum cobalamin levels also.  This
project is designed to determine the prevalence of biochemically
significant cobalamin deficiency in an elderly population and patients with
neurologic or psychiatric abnormalities.  In addition, in two subsets of
patients, the pattern of neurobehavioral abnormalities will be defined
using sensitive multifaceted methodology, and the nature and extent of
response to cobalamin therapy will be determined.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3121763
- **Project number:** 1R01AG009834-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MW8JHK6ZYEX8
- **Principal Investigator:** SALLY P STABLER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1991
- **Award amount:** $172,702
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1991-06-01 → 1996-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3121763

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3121763, PREVALENCE AND SPECTRUM OF B12 DEFICIENCY IN THE AGED (1R01AG009834-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3121763. Licensed CC0.

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