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Objectives: The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the relationship between 25 OH vitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency and iron-deficient anaemia (IDA) in the pediatric population. This was aimed to provide a better insight to IDA follow-up and treatment. Methods: The data of 120 patients diagnosed with IDA and 125 healthy pediatric patients were analyzed retrospectively. Serum vitamin B12, Folate and 25(OH)D levels, between IDA and healthy groups were evaluated. The relationship between vitamins levels and IDA parameters were examined. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether 25(OH)D deficiency levels were an independent risk factor for diagnosing IDA. Results: In the comparison of vitamins levels between groups, only mean serum 25(OH)D levels were found to be statistically significantly (p=0.000) lower (13.00 ± 2.50 ng/mL) in the group with IDA compared to the healthy group (25.98 ± 3.66 ng/mL). There were strong positive correlations between 25(OH)D deficiency levels and IDA. The deficiency of 25(OH)D levels was not found to be an independent risk factor for IDA (ORs: 0.958, 95% CI: 0.917–1.000). Conclusions: Although current results confirm the association between 25(0H)D deficiency and IDA in pediatric patients, they indicate that there was no independent risk factor for IDA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Homocysteine is a sulfur containing amino acid that is formed during methionine metabolism. Patients under long-term antiepileptic drug treatment often have hyperhomocysteinemia. These patients have low levels of serum folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, all of which are associated with homocysteine metabolism. We have investigated the effects of valproic acid and new generation antiepileptic drugs (lamotrigine and levetiracetam) on plasma levels of homocysteine and aminothiols as well as serum vitamin B12 and folic acid. Materials and methods: Forty-seven idiopathic epileptic patients on antiepileptic drugs were compared with 38 age-matched healthy controls. Commercial immunoassay methods were used for vitamin B12 and folic acid analyses. Homocysteine, cysteine, cysteinylglycine and glutathione levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Results: There was no significant difference in patient and control values in terms of vitamin B12, folic acid and homocysteine. Valproic acid and lamotrigine seemed to effect aminothiol redox status. Glutathione levels of epileptic patients receiving valproic acid and lamotrigine were higher than controls. Conclusion: Our results suggest that redox homeostasis may be impaired and glutathione synthesis increased in response to the oxidative stress caused by antiepileptic drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean products are popular because of its taste, digestibility, and health benefits. However, soybean lacks vitamin, mainly the low water-soluble vitamin B12. This study investigated the effects of fermentation conditions on the synthesis of vitamin B12, production of metabolites, and growth of Lactobacillus reuteri and Propionibacterium shermainii in fermented soy-milk. A Lotka Volterra model was successfully employed to describe the competition relationship between the two microorganisms under various fermentation conditions. A quadratic function between the ratio of interaction coefficients and vitamin B12 content was found. Higher vitamin B12 in soy-milk can be produced when the ratio of interaction coefficients approach to one. Compared with other fermented soybean products, fermented soy-milk contains more acetate, ethanol, and propionic acid. This study successfully demonstrated a mathematical model to enhance soy-milk vitamin B12 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which assessed the correlation between reductase (MTHFR) C677T (rs1801133) polymorphism and homocysteine, vitamin B12, and folate levels, and DNA fragmentation in patients with ovarian cancer. Topics covered include findings which showed that there is no association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and ovarian cancer, and that patients with ovarian cancer had increased DNA fragmentation.

Objective: Widespread causes of anemia are the deficiencies of iron, vitamin B12 and folate. The exact diagnosis is based on the laboratory data determined according to the appropriate reference ranges along with clinical symptoms. International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) and Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) have suggested that each laboratory should determine their own reference values. In this study, we aim to determine reference intervals of anemia parameters in a large cohort of Turkish adults and to investigate whether these values confirm with data sheets of commercial kits. Methods: Healthy 1251 subjects were included in the study. Subjects were divided into six groups according to their ages. Levels of serum iron, unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC), ferritin, vitamin B12 and folate, and complete blood counts of all participants were determined. Results: There were significant differences between genders in terms of serum iron, ferritin, UIBC, folate levels and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). While levels of iron, UIBC, ferritin, and MCV were higher in males, vitamin B12 and folate levels were higher in females. MCV, folate and vitamin B12 levels were higher in middle aged adults, and lower in the young and elderly. Conclusion: There wasn't much difference between our results and previous studies and manufacturers' ranges except the ferritin and iron levels. Therefore, reference ranges are not required to be determined again. It was concluded that, high upper limits of serum iron and ferritin levels may be caused by inflammation so that these levels is not appropriate as a reference range unless evaluated together with inflammatory markers such as CRP, but lower levels may be valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]