Effective vitamin B12 treatment can reduce serum antigastric parietal cell antibody titer in patients with oral mucosal disease.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Patients with serum antigastric parietal cell antibody (GPCA) positivity may have vitamin B12 deficiency and some oral symptoms. This study assessed the changes of serum GPCA titer in GPCA-positive patients after effective vitamin B12 treatment.

METHODS

Two hundred and ten GPCA-positive oral mucosal disease patients became oral symptom free (complete response) after 1.0-67.1 months of treatment with regular and continuous intramuscular injection of vitamin B12 once per week. The changes of serum GPCA titers after treatment were evaluated in these 210 patients.

RESULTS

We found a significant drop of the GPCA positive rate from 100% to 42.9% in our 210 complete response patients after effective vitamin B12 treatment (p < 0.001). When 210 patients were further divided into seven subgroups according to the low to high serum GPCA titers, we noted that the higher serum GPCA titers decreased to significantly lower levels after treatment in all seven subgroups (all p < 0.001). However, serum GPCA titers increased to significantly higher levels in 46 GPCA-positive control patients receiving only oral administration of two vitamin BC capsules (containing 10 μg of vitamin B12) plus deficient hematinic supplements per day after a follow-up period of 2.7-27 months. A maintenance vitamin B12 treatment once a month could retain the GPCA-negative status in 87% of treated-to GPCA-negative patients compared with those (10%) without further maintenance vitamin B12 treatment.

CONCLUSION

Regular and continuous effective vitamin B12 treatment can reduce the relatively higher serum GPCA titers to significantly lower or undetectable levels in GPCA-positive patients.