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Replacement therapy for vitamin B12 deficiency: comparison between the sublingual and oral route
Author(s) -
Sharabi Amir,
Cohen Eytan,
Sulkes Jaqueline,
Garty Moshe
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
british journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.216
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1365-2125
pISSN - 0306-5251
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2125.2003.01907.x
Subject(s) - cobalamin , vitamin b12 , medicine , oral administration , confidence interval , cyanocobalamin , sublingual administration , vitamin , gastroenterology
Aims To compare the efficacy of sublingual and oral administration of 500 µg of cobalamin in subjects with cobalamin deficiency. Materials and results Thirty subjects with low serum concentrations of cobalamin participated in the study. Subjects were randomly allocated to receive one tablet daily of 500 µg cobalamin sublingually or orally, or two tablets daily of a vitamin B complex. Serum cobalamin concentrations before treatment were 94 ± 30 pmol l −1 , 108 ± 17 pmol l −1 and 98 ± 14 pmol l −1 in the sublingual B12, oral B12 and oral B‐complex groups, respectively. After 4 weeks, concentrations rose to 288 ± 74 pmol l −1 , 286 ± 87 pmol l −1 and 293 ± 78 pmol l −1 , respectively. The increase in each group across time was statistically significant ( P = 0.0001, differences [95% confidence intervals] 194.2 (114.5, 273.9), 178.3 (104.2, 252.4), and 195.1 (135.0, 255.2) pmol l −1 , respectively). There was no significant difference in concentrations between the treatment groups. Conclusion A dose of 500 µg of cobalamin given either sublingually or orally is effective in correcting cobalamin deficiency.