Pernicious anemia. From past to present

E Rodríguez de Santiago; C Ferre Aracil; A García García de Paredes; V F Moreira Vicente

doi:10.1016/j.rce.2014.12.013

Pernicious anemia. From past to present

Rev Clin Esp (Barc). 2015 Jun-Jul;215(5):276-84. doi: 10.1016/j.rce.2014.12.013. Epub 2015 Feb 11.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Authors

E Rodríguez de Santiago¹, C Ferre Aracil², A García García de Paredes², V F Moreira Vicente²

Affiliations

¹ Servicio de Gastroenterología, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, España. Electronic address: e_rodriguez_de_santiago@hotmail.com.
² Servicio de Gastroenterología, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, España.

PMID: 25680481
DOI: 10.1016/j.rce.2014.12.013

Abstract

Pernicious anemia is currently the most common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency in Western countries. The histological lesion upon which this condition is based is autoimmune chronic atrophic gastritis. The destruction of parietal cells causes a deficiency in intrinsic factor, an essential protein for vitamin B12 absorption in the terminal ileum. Advances in the last two decades have reopened the debate on a disease that seemed to have been forgotten due to its apparent simplicity. The new role of H. pylori, the value of parietal cell antibodies and intrinsic factor antibodies, the true usefulness of serum vitamin B12 levels, the risk of adenocarcinoma and gastric carcinoids and oral vitamin B12 treatment are just some of the current issues analyzed in depth in this review.

Keywords: Anemia perniciosa; Anticuerpos anticélula parietal; Anticuerpos antifactor intrínseco; B12 oral; Factor intrínseco; Gastric adenocarcinoma risk; Helicobacter pylori; Homocisteína; Homocysteine; Intrinsic factor; Intrinsic factor antibodies; Methylmalonic acid; Oral vitamin B12; Parietal cell antibodies; Pernicious anemia; Riesgo adenocarcinoma gástrico; Vitamin B12; Vitamina B12; Ácido metilmalónico.