"I have found the uMMA test to be helpful in four ways:
- To confirm lack of absorption of B12 in individuals who have all of the other
manifestations of so called pernicious anemia.
- To screen those individuals, whose blood counts demonstrate relatively high
mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin.
- To screen elderly individuals for B12 deficiency if they have diminished
vibratory sense, peripheral neuropathy of any severity or any type of unexplained
neurological syndrome.
- To exclude B12 deficiency in those individuals, who may be taking excessive
amounts of folic acid which keeps their blood counts normal, but who may develop
rapidly progressive neurologic disease.
"I have had patients in all of these categories in whom the uMMA test has been
helpful."
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Robert A. Helm, M.D.
Cincinnati, Ohio
"Thank you for the informative articles that you have been sending,
as I always find them valuable.
"Unfortunately, I did not find the time to write a letter regarding the article
we discussed in the Annals concerning B12 deficiency and the use of omeprazole.
"I also will not find the time to write a letter regarding the enclosed article from the Archives of Family Medicine (3 Oct 1994) regarding B12 levels in the elderly. However, I noted in the article that they did not mention the
use of uMMA screening, which of course is a better screening test than the ones
they did use. ( Tests cited were serum B12, SMMA, and serum homocysteine.)
"I thought you might be interested in this article, and if you choose to write a letter to the Archives, I would be interested in receiving a copy.
"Thanks again for continuing to send me updates on the literature. " | |
Gary W. Berger, M.D.
Hughesville, Pennsylvania
E-Mail requests
for test kits and/or additional information.
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