Neuropathy occurs regularly in HIV infection. According to University of Chicago Center for Peripheral Neuropathy, nerve damage affects nearly a third of patients diagnosed with HIV, and peripheral neuropathy can manifest at early stages of the disease as well as advanced stages. Neurological problems represent one of the most common symptoms of vitamin B-12 deficiency, and in HIV patients, vitamin B-12 deficiency occurs frequently, often as a result of malabsorption from food. If you have HIV neuropathy, speak to your doctor about vitamin B-12 supplementation as a potential complementary treatment.
Deficiency
Vitamin B-12 deficiency occurs often in HIV patients. Researchers have not yet discovered a definitive reason why this deficiency occurs, according to Dawn McGuire, M.D., of University of California San Francisco. Possible hypotheses include malabsorption of nutrients. According to a March 2002 study conducted by researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Beth Israel Medical Center, HIV and AIDS patients display abnormalities in the metabolic pathways responsible for absorption of vitamin B-12. The results of this study were published in the journal "Neurology."
Symptoms
Symptoms of HIV neuropathy and vitamin B-12 deficiency share many similarities, including weakness, numbness and tingling. HIV patients with neuropathy typically experience pain, numbness, prickling, stiffness, tingling and burning in the soles of the feet as well as the toes. HIV neuropathy also affects the hands in some cases, and causes loss of feeling, numbness and tingling. In more rare cases, HIV neuropathy causes loss of bladder and bowel control and dizziness.
Sources
Liver remains one of the best sources of vitamin B-12, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. One slice of liver contains 48 mcg of vitamin B-12, which is 800 per cent of the recommended daily intake. Other good sources of vitamin B-12 include clams, trout, salmon, beef, poultry, haddock, yogurt, tuna, milk, cheese and eggs. For vegetarians with HIV, good sources of vitamin B-12 include fortified breakfast cereals and nutritional yeast.
Treatment
Antiretroviral medications demonstrate some positive impact in the alleviation of HIV neuropathy, according to recent research. A February 2004 study conducted by Brooke Army Medical Center researchers and published in the "International Journal of STD and AIDS" found that antiretroviral medication boosted vitamin B-12 levels in HIV patients. Doctors also often recommend Vitamin B-12 injections, particularly in cases where malabsorption of vitamin B-12 is suspected.
References
- University of Chicago: Center for Peripheral Neuropathy: Types of Peripheral Neuropathy - Inflammatory: HIV/AIDS; November 2010
- University of California San Francisco: HIV In Site: Neurologic Manifestations of HIV; Dawn McGuire, M.D.; June 2003
- Neurology: Abnormal Cobalamin-Dependent Transmethylation in AIDS-Associated Myelopathy; A. Di Rocco et al.; March 2002
- National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin B12; June 2011
- International Journal of STD and AIDS: Low serum vitamin B12 levels in an outpatient HIV-infected population; M.J. Hepburn et al.; June 2004
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