Comment on Tyler's Review

Tyler’s review of the article “It Could Be Old Age, or It Could Be Low B12” was very informative and addressed a new discovery in the medical field, that Alzheimer diagnoses could in fact be a vitamin B12 deficiency instead.  One well-presented aspect of the review is that Tyler lists what the specific symptoms of B12 deficiency are, namely weakness, fatigue, mood disorders, and memory loss.  These symptoms are present in Alzheimer’s patients, but would also be present in someone suffering from B12 deficiency.  Another well-presented aspect of Tyler’s review is that he states what foods should be eaten to avoid B12 deficiency.  While supplements exist for all ages, B12 is acquired naturally through consumption of meats and dairy products.  Therefore, most people naturally acquire necessary levels of B12 except for those people who can’t or won’t eat animal products.  Finally, Tyler also states which people are most at risk for B12 deficiency.  Heavy alcohol drinkers, people who have had stomach surgery, and patients prescribed certain medications are all at risk of having low B12 levels.  Also, as people get older they naturally absorb less B12, which is why this is an especially prevalent problem among the elderly. 

            An area in which Tyler could have improved his review would be including why B12 deficiency was misdiagnosed for so long.  It was unclear whether this is a long-standing problem, and therefore many misdiagnosed Alzheimer’s patients can now be helped, or if the problem is, so far, restricted to the one woman mentioned in the article.  Another area in which Tyler’s review could be improved is when he mentions that B12 deficiency can also cause easily diagnosed anemia.  He never states at what levels B12 is simply low and at what levels someone becomes anemic.  Also, it is confusing as to how low B12’s symptoms would differ from anemia if anemia is just very low B12 levels.  Mainly, it made it confusing why anemia and low B12 are not the same illness if the symptoms of both are caused by the same vitamin deficiency.

            The part of this article that was most interesting is the possibility that many Alzheimer’s cases could actually be misdiagnosed B12 deficiencies.  If this is true, then it means that many people will be able to improve and over time regain their ability to remember things.  This could be very good news to some Alzheimer’s patients and their families.  Hopefully, this article is correct and soon many misdiagnosed peoples’ lives will improve as a result of this discovery.