Vitamin B-12 is essential properly maintain your body's nervous system. When B-12 is no longer absorbed efficiently, or you begin a new radical diet that does not include enough foods with B-12, you may develop a deficiency. B-12 deficiency can cause a wide range of symptoms affecting the peripheral nerves, spinal cord and brain. One of the early and common neurological symptoms is ataxia, or unsteady gait.
B-12 Deficiency
Although you might be eating a well-balanced diet and/or taking supplements, you might not be absorbing enough B-12. To absorb B-12 from food or supplements, your need enough of a binding protein called intrinsic factor, which is manufactured by the stomach lining. Intrinsic factor binds onto the B-12 in your food so that the vitamin can then be absorbed through the lining of your small intestine. When the stomach lining becomes thin with age or is affected by certain medications or autoimmune diseases, it can no longer make intrinsic factor. Without intrinsic factor, the B-12 cannot be absorbed across the small intestine, causing the vitamin deficiency. Over time, the lack of B-12 in the body causes damage to the protective covering, called the myelin sheath, of the peripheral nerves and also to portions of the spinal cord and brain.
Peripheral Neuropathy
In a review study of 143 patients with B-12 deficiency at the Department of Neurology, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York and published in July 1991 in "Medicine," researchers noted that the first symptoms of deficiency in patients was paresthesias, described as numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, along with ataxia. The peripheral nerves run from the spinal cord all along the length of the extremities. Both these symptoms are the direct result of damage to the nerves called peripheral neuropathy.
Subacute Combined Degeneration
A condition called subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord is a severe neurological condition that occurs in some people with prolonged B-12 deficiency. Common symptoms of SCD include weakness, numbness and lack of coordination. Together, these symptoms are reflected in ataxia.
Examination
When the peripheral nerves, spinal cord or brain are damaged, the damage can be reflected in how well a person walks. When a person, for example, has had too much alcohol, he might not be able to walk a straight line because the alcohol has affected the peripheral nerves and also the balance center in the brain. Neurologists may ask a patient to stand on one foot at time or to walk a straight line, both forwards and backwards. Patients with B-12 deficiency will have problems with these tests.
Prevention
You can find B-12 in most foods, but according to the National Institutes of Health, the highest B-12 levels are in liver, clams, breakfast cereals, certain fish such as trout, salmon and haddock, as well as eggs and milk products. Vegetarians or vegans may not get enough B-12 because most sources of B-12 are animal proteins. B-12 is available in supplement forms. A health care professional can also administer B-12 injections once a month.
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