Effects of methylcobalamin on vitamin B1- and B-deficient encephalopathy in rats.

Vitamin B1- and B-deficient encephalopathy was produced in adult Wistar rats and the effect of methylcobalamin was studied. These experiments were performed in vitamin B1- or B-deficient rats with or without the administration of guanidine, a magnesium antagonist. These encephalopathic rats showed symmetrical lesions in the pontine tegmentum. No pathological changes in the brainstem were seen in guanidine-administered rats. This suggests that guanidine itself doesn't produce these brainstem lesions. Moderate to severe pathological changes occurred in vitamin B-deficient rats with guanidine administration, whereas these pathological changes were milder in vitamin B1-deficient rats with guanidine administration and in vitamin B1- and B-deficient rats with the combination of the guanidine and methylcobalamin administrations. These facts suggest that vitamin B12, methylcobalamin, plays an important preventive role in the development of the pontine lesions in this experiment.