[Maternal vitamin B12 deficiency: cause for neurological symptoms in infancy].

BACKGROUND

Symptoms of Vitamin B (12) deficiency in infancy include growth retardation, regression of psychomotor development, muscular hypotonia and brain atrophy. Besides an inappropriate vegetarian diet of the infants, a vegan diet or a pernicious anaemia of the mother may lead to an insufficient vitamin B (12) supply of the child.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

We report here the neurological symptoms of 4 fully breast-fed infants from mothers on vegan diet or with pernicious anaemia.

DISCUSSION AND

CONCLUSION

Vitamin B (12) deficiency can easily be diagnosed by detection of methylmalonic acid when measuring the organic acids in urine. Vitamin B (12) deficiency should be avoided or diagnosed as early as possible since a supplementation of mother and child can prevent neurological symptoms of the baby. Furthermore, the neurological symptoms of the infant with manifest vitamin B (12) deficiency are (partially) reversible.