Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and storage. Folate is required for the body to make DNA and RNA and metabolise amino acids necessary for cell division and maturation of blood cells. As the human body cannot make folate, it is required in the diet, making it an essential nutrient. It occurs naturally in many foods. The recommended adult daily intake of folate in the U.S. is 400 micrograms from foods or dietary supplements.
Anemia or anaemia is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin available for oxygen transport, or abnormalities in hemoglobin that impair its function. The name is derived from Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-) 'not', and αἷμα (haima) 'blood'. When anemia comes on slowly, the symptoms are often vague, such as tiredness, weakness, shortness of breath, headaches, and a reduced ability to exercise. When anemia is acute, symptoms may include confusion, feeling like one is going to pass out, loss of consciousness, and increased thirst. Anemia must be significant before a person becomes noticeably pale. Additional symptoms may occur depending on the underlying cause. Anemia can be temporary or long term and can range from mild to severe.
Pernicious anemia is a disease where not enough red blood cells are produced due to a deficiency of vitamin B12. Those affected often have a gradual onset. The most common initial symptoms are feeling tired and weak. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, feeling faint, a smooth red tongue, pale skin, chest pain, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, heartburn, numbness in the hands and feet, difficulty walking, memory loss, muscle weakness, poor reflexes, blurred vision, clumsiness, depression, and confusion. Without treatment, some of these problems may become permanent.
Red blood cell distribution width (RDW), as well as various types thereof, is a measure of the range of variation of red blood cell (RBC) volume that is reported as part of a standard complete blood count. Red blood cells have an average volume of 80–100 femtoliters, but individual cell volumes vary even in healthy blood. Certain disorders, however, cause a significantly increased variation in cell size. Higher RDW values indicate greater variation in size. Normal reference range of RDW-CV in human red blood cells is 11.5–15.4%. If anemia is observed, RDW test results are often used together with mean corpuscular volume (MCV) results to determine the possible causes of the anemia. It is mainly used to differentiate an anemia of mixed causes from an anemia of a single cause.
Pancytopenia is a medical condition in which there is significant reduction in the number of almost all blood cells.
Macrocytosis is a condition where red blood cells are larger than normal. These enlarged cells, also known as macrocytes, are defined by a mean corpuscular volume (MCV) that exceeds the upper reference range established by the laboratory and hematology analyzer. Upon examination of a peripheral blood smear under microscope, these macrocytes appear larger than standard erythrocytes. It’s noteworthy that macrocytosis is a common morphological feature in neonatal peripheral blood. The presence of macrocytosis can indicate a range of conditions, from benign, treatable illnesses to more serious underlying disorders.
Folate deficiency, also known as vitamin B9 deficiency, is a low level of folate and derivatives in the body. This may result in a type of anemia in which red blood cells become abnormally large and is a late finding in folate deficiency and folate deficiency anemia is the term given for this medical condition. Signs of folate deficiency are often subtle. Symptoms may include feeling tired, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, feeling faint, open sores on the tongue, loss of appetite, changes in the color of the skin or hair, irritability, and behavioral changes. Temporary reversible infertility may occur. Folate deficiency anemia during pregnancy may give rise to the birth of low weight birth premature infants and infants with neural tube defects.
Hydroxocobalamin, also known as vitamin B12a and hydroxycobalamin, is a vitamin found in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to treat vitamin B12 deficiency including pernicious anemia. Other uses include treatment for cyanide poisoning, Leber's optic atrophy, and toxic amblyopia. It is given by injection into a muscle or vein.
Subacute combined degeneration of spinal cord, also known as myelosis funiculus, or funicular myelosis, also Lichtheim's disease, and Putnam-Dana syndrome, refers to degeneration of the posterior and lateral columns of the spinal cord as a result of vitamin B12 deficiency (most common). It may also occur similarly as result of vitamin E deficiency, and copper deficiency. It is usually associated with pernicious anemia.
Vitamin B12 deficiency, also known as cobalamin deficiency, is the medical condition in which the blood and tissue have a lower than normal level of vitamin B12. Symptoms can vary from none to severe. Mild deficiency may have few or absent symptoms. In moderate deficiency, feeling tired, headaches, soreness of the tongue, mouth ulcers, breathlessness, feeling faint, rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, pallor, hair loss, decreased ability to think and severe joint pain and the beginning of neurological symptoms, including abnormal sensations such as pins and needles, numbness and tinnitus may occur. Severe deficiency may include symptoms of reduced heart function as well as more severe neurological symptoms, including changes in reflexes, poor muscle function, memory problems, blurred vision, irritability, ataxia, decreased smell and taste, decreased level of consciousness, depression, anxiety, guilt and psychosis. If left untreated, some of these changes can become permanent. Temporary infertility, reversible with treatment, may occur. A late finding type of anemia known as megaloblastic anemia is often but not always present. In exclusively breastfed infants of vegan mothers, undetected and untreated deficiency can lead to poor growth, poor development, and difficulties with movement.
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, and in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It is important in the normal functioning of the nervous system via its role in the synthesis of myelin, and in the circulatory system in the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow. Plants do not need cobalamin and carry out the reactions with enzymes that are not dependent on it.
The term macrocytic is from Greek words meaning "large cell". A macrocytic class of anemia is an anemia in which the red blood cells (erythrocytes) are larger than their normal volume. The normal erythrocyte volume in humans is about 80 to 100 femtoliters. In metric terms the size is given in equivalent cubic micrometers. The condition of having erythrocytes which are too large, is called macrocytosis. In contrast, in microcytic anemia, the erythrocytes are smaller than normal.
Methionine synthase reductase, also known as MSR, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MTRR gene.
Hematologic diseases are disorders which primarily affect the blood and blood-forming organs. Hematologic diseases include rare genetic disorders, anemia, HIV, sickle cell disease and complications from chemotherapy or transfusions.
Neutrophil hypersegmentation can be defined as the presence of neutrophils whose nuclei have six or more lobes or the presence of more than 3% of neutrophils with at least five nuclear lobes. This is a clinical laboratory finding. It is visualized by drawing blood from a patient and viewing the blood smeared on a slide under a microscope. Normal neutrophils are uniform in size, with an apparent diameter of about 13 μm in a film. When stained, neutrophils have a segmented nucleus and pink/orange cytoplasm under light microscope. The majority of neutrophils have three nuclear segments (lobes) connected by tapering chromatin strands. A small percentage have four lobes, and occasionally five lobes may be seen. Up to 8% of circulating neutrophils are unsegmented.
Anemia is a deficiency in the size or number of red blood cells or in the amount of hemoglobin they contain. This deficiency limits the exchange of O2 and CO2 between the blood and the tissue cells. Globally, young children, women, and older adults are at the highest risk of developing anemia. Anemia can be classified based on different parameters, and one classification depends on whether it is related to nutrition or not so there are two types: nutritional anemia and non-nutritional anemia. Nutritional anemia refers to anemia that can be directly attributed to nutritional disorders or deficiencies. Examples include Iron deficiency anemia and pernicious anemia. It is often discussed in a pediatric context.
Imerslund–Gräsbeck syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive, familial form of vitamin B12 deficiency caused by malfunction of the "Cubam" receptor located in the terminal ileum. This receptor is composed of two proteins, amnionless (AMN), and cubilin. A defect in either of these protein components can cause this syndrome. This is a rare disease, with a prevalence about 1 in 200,000, and is usually seen in patients of European ancestry.
Relatively speaking, the brain consumes an immense amount of energy in comparison to the rest of the body. The mechanisms involved in the transfer of energy from foods to neurons are likely to be fundamental to the control of brain function. Human bodily processes, including the brain, all require both macronutrients, as well as micronutrients.
A nucleated red blood cell (NRBC), also known by several other names, is a red blood cell that contains a cell nucleus. Almost all vertebrate organisms have hemoglobin-containing cells in their blood, and with the exception of mammals, all of these red blood cells are nucleated. In mammals, NRBCs occur in normal development as precursors to mature red blood cells in erythropoiesis, the process by which the body produces red blood cells.
Anemia is a condition in which blood has a lower-than-normal amount of red blood cells or hemoglobin. Anemia in pregnancy is a decrease in the total red blood cells (RBCs) or hemoglobin in the blood during pregnancy. Anemia is an extremely common condition in pregnancy world-wide, conferring a number of health risks to mother and child. While anemia in pregnancy may be pathologic, in normal pregnancies, the increase in RBC mass is smaller than the increase in plasma volume, leading to a mild decrease in hemoglobin concentration referred to as physiologic anemia. Maternal signs and symptoms are usually non-specific, but can include: fatigue, pallor, dyspnea, palpitations, and dizziness. There are numerous well-known maternal consequences of anemia including: maternal cardiovascular strain, reduced physical and mental performance, reduced peripartum blood reserves, increased risk for peripartum blood product transfusion, and increased risk for maternal mortality.
