Overview
Xobaline: What do vegetarian diets and Alzheimer’s have in common?
Methylcobalamin (the active ingredient in Xobaline) is one of several forms of vitamin B12 — a vitamin that is unique in that
it contains the mineral cobalt.
Vitamin B12 is made only by microorganisms, not by plants or
animals. This means that animals must obtain this vitamin either
from their diet or from microorganisms living in their bodies.
For example, cows get their vitamin B12 from gut-dwelling bacteria.
Since the vitamin is stored in animal cells, carnivores can get
their vitamin B12 by eating meat, even though they don’t themselves
have B12-producing gut-dwelling bacteria. Herbivores that lack
B12-producing bacteria (such as human vegetarians or pet animals)
will develop B12 deficiencies unless they use some kind of B12
supplement. In fact, it has been found that 60-70% of vegetarians
have vitamin B12 deficiencies! Left untreated, such
deficiencies will eventually do permanent damage to the body.
Deficiencies of vitamin B12 result in harmful effects on the
blood, nerves, vascular system, bone, and digestive tract, including:
- anemia
- nerve damage, causing loss of sensation, motor disruptions, irritability, depression, cognitive decline, incontinence, insomnia,
impotence, visual and auditory effects
- raised homocysteine levels, increasing the risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s symptoms
- damage to the digestive tract, leading to diarrhea, constipation, pain, gas, anorexia, and weight loss.
Interest in methylcobalamin supplementation centers mainly on five applications:
- vegetarian diets that result in B12 deficiencies
- diabetic neuropathy
- neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS, MS, and Alzheimer’s
- cardiovascular disease
- osteoporosis and strokes.
Read Xobaline® Monograph
Methylcobalamin (the active ingredient in Xobaline) is one of
several forms of vitamin B12 known as ‘cobalamins’. Cobalamins
are unique vitamins in that they contain the mineral cobalt.
Only two of the cobalamins actually play active roles in the body’s
biochemistry, however — these are methylcobalamin and S-adenosylcobalamin.
Since the methyl- and adenosyl- forms are interconvertable, a dietary
source that contains methylcobalamin also serves as
a source of S-adenosylcobalamin.
The cobalamins are made only by microorganisms, not by plants
or animals. This means that animals must obtain them either
from their diet or from microorganisms living in their bodies.
For example, cows get their vitamin B12 from gut-dwelling bacteria.
Since the cobalamins are stored in animal cells, carnivores can
get their vitamin B12 by eating meat, even though they don’t
themselves have B12-producing gut-dwelling bacteria. Herbivores
that lack B12-producing bacteria (such as human vegetarians
or pet animals) will develop B12 deficiencies unless they use
some kind of B12 supplement. In fact, it has been found that
around 60-70% of vegetarians have vitamin B12 deficiencies!
Left untreated, such deficiencies will eventually do permanent damage
to the body.
Deficiencies of vitamin B12 result in harmful effects on the
blood, nerves, vascular system, bone, and digestive tract:
- White and red blood cells develop defects that lead to
anemia.
- Peripheral and central nerves are damaged, causing loss of
sensation, motor disruptions, irritability, depression, cognitive
decline, incontinence, insomnia, impotence, visual and
auditory effects.
- Homocysteine levels rise, increasing the risk of coronary
artery disease, stroke, and osteoporosis.
- Damage to gastrointestinal cells can lead to diarrhea,
constipation, pain, gas, anorexia, and weight loss.
What we can’t tell you
In the U.S. and some other industrialized countries,
government agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have
adopted
censorship as a method for intensifying their control over the
supplement industry and its customers. Thus, FDA regulations
prohibit us from telling you that any of our products are
effective as medical treatments, even if they are, in fact,
effective.
Accordingly, we will limit our discussion of methylcobalamin
to a brief summary of relevant research, and let you draw your
own conclusions about what medical conditions it may be
effective in treating.
Interest in methylcobalamin supplementation centers mainly on
five applications:
- Vegetarian diets that result in B12 deficiencies
- diabetic neuropathy
- neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS,
and MS
and Alzheimer’s,
- cardiovascular disease
- osteoporosis and strokes
Vegetarian diets
Long-term total vegetarians (vegetarians who do not use any
eggs, meat, fish, poultry or dairy products) are at risk for vitamin
B12 deficiency. Since such deficiencies can take several years
to develop, vegetarians often fail to recognize the symptoms
until the condition is advanced and anemia and neuropsychiatric
disorders are occurring. Although oral B12 supplements can
restore serum levels of B12 and eliminate macrocytic anemia,
the neurological disorders may persist even months after treatment.
In some cases the damage done to the nervous system is
irreversible.
According to the Vegan Society, “In over 60 years of vegan
experimentation only B12 fortified foods and B12 supplements have
proven themselves as reliable sources of B12, capable of
supporting optimal health. It is very important that all vegans ensure
they have an adequate intake of B12, from fortified foods or
supplements.”
Diabetic neuropathy
Diabetic neuropathy is a decrease in nerve function typically
affecting the lower limbs in people and animals with diabetes.
The symptoms include muscle weakness, depressed reflexes,
disturbances in gait or balance, numbness, tingling, burning, or
shooting pains. Sensation can eventually become completely lost
so that minor injuries may go unnoticed. Damage to the autonomic
nervous system results in impaired circulation, so that wounds
don’t heal properly. Thus, minor injuries can become major
ones, greatly increasing the risk of gangrene and the need for
amputation of affected body parts.
Effective treatment of diabetic neuropathy has reportedly
been achieved with methyl B12 in sufficiently large doses.
The mechanism for these beneficial effects is not yet
completely understood. It has been suggested that diabetics are
deficient
in B12 in their nerve tissue (not in the blood),
and that B12 supplements correct this deficiency.
Diabetes afflicts animals as well as humans, so it’s not
surprising that pets can also suffer from diabetic neuropathy and
that Zobaline the cat-specific form of Xobaline is being used as a treatment. This subject is
discussed in a separate
article on this website.
Neurodegenerative diseases
In certain neurological conditions — such as Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and AIDS-related dementia
— nerve cells are thought to be exposed to excessive amounts of
the neurotransmitter glutamate, resulting in neurotoxicity.
Recently high-dose methyl B12 has been shown to diminish
glutamate-related neurotoxicity in animals,
suggesting that neurodegenerative diseases may be effectively treated
with methyl B12.
Several studies during the 1990s showed specific improvements
in the condition of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer’s, when they were given large
doses of methylcobalamin.
Parkinson’s Disease is usually treated with the drug L-dopa,
which has, as a side effect, the elevation of homocysteine levels.
Parkinson’s patients are therefore at increased risk of
cardiovascular damage. A study in 2005 reported that dual
supplementation
with cobalamin and folic acid effectively reduced these
elevated homocysteine levels — as one would expect.
Cardiovascular disease
Research into the effects of methylcobalamin and other
vitamin B12 variants on cardiovascular disease has been focused entirely
on the prevention of homocysteine excesses in the body.
Since methylcobalamin is required for homocysteine
metabolism, B12 deficiencies can cause the body to accumulate too much
homocysteine and cause coronary artery disease.
Methylcobalamin supplementation is a well-accepted treatment for such
deficiency-caused cardiovascular problems, which may
include ischemic heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular
disease.
Methylcobalamin supplementation may also be useful for lowering
homocysteine levels that are elevated for reasons other than
B12 deficiencies.
(Note: methylcobalamin and folic acid are both
required for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine — LifeLink’s
Xobaline therefore contains both of these vitamins.)
Osteoporosis and strokes
An elevated homocysteine level is a risk factor for both
ischemic stroke and osteoporotic fractures in elderly men and women.
In a 2005 study it was shown that in stroke patients, a two-year
treatment with methylcobalamin (1500 mcg/day) plus folic
acid (5 mg/day) reduced plasma homocysteine levels by 38% and
reduced the rate of hip fractures by about a factor of 4.
Conclusion
Are methylcobalamin supplements useful for the conditions
and purposes mentioned above? We aren’t allowed to tell you, so
you should take a look at some of the references cited here,
and then decide for yourself.
References
[1] Vitamin B12: Are
you getting it? [PDF, 406KB] Vegan Outreach website
Jack Norris
[2] Vitamin
B12 PDR Health website
[3] Vitamin
B12 (Cobalamin) University of Maryland Medical Center
website
[4] Effect
of folate and mecobalamin on hip fractures in patients with stroke: a
randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2005 Mar
2;293(9):1082-8 Sato Y, Honda Y, Iwamoto J, Kanoko T, Satoh K
[5] Effect
of ultrahigh-dose methylcobalamin on compound muscle action potentials
in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a double-blind
controlled study. Muscle Nerve. 1998
Dec;21(12):1775-8 Kaji R, Kodama M, Imamura A, Hashida T, Kohara N,
Ishizu M, Inui K, Kimura J
[6] Vitamin
B12 metabolism and massive-dose methyl vitamin B12 therapy in Japanese
patients with multiple sclerosis. Intern Med. 1994
Feb;33(2):82-6. Kira J, Tobimatsu S, Goto I
[7] Treatment
of Alzheimer-type dementia with intravenous mecobalamin. Clin
Ther. 1992 May-Jun;14(3):426-37 Ikeda T, Yamamoto K, Takahashi K,
Kaku Y, Uchiyama M, Sugiyama K, Yamada M
[8] Hyperhomocysteinemia
in L-dopa treated Parkinson's disease patients: effect of cobalamin and
folate administration. Eur J Neurol. 2005
May;12(5):365-8 Lamberti P, Zoccolella S, Armenise E, Lamberti SV,
Fraddosio A, de Mari M, Iliceto G, Livrea P
[9] Role
of hyperhomocysteinemia in endothelial dysfunction and atherothrombotic
disease. Cell Death Differ. 2004 Jul;11 Suppl 1:S56-64
Austin RC, Lentz SR, Werstuck GH
[10] Clinical
usefulness of intrathecal injection of methylcobalamin in patients with
diabetic neuropathy. Clin Ther. 1987;9(2):183-92 Ide
H, Fujiya S, Asanuma Y, Tsuji M, Sakai H, Agishi Y
[11] Effects
of methylcobalamin on diabetic neuropathy. Clin Neurol
Neurosurg. 1992;94(2):105-11 Yaqub BA, Siddique A, Sulimani R
[12] Effectiveness
of vitamin B12 on diabetic neuropathy: systematic review of clinical
controlled trials. Acta Neurol Taiwan. 2005
Jun;14(2):48-54 Sun Y, Lai MS, Lu CJ
[13] Role
of glutamate and excitotoxicity in neurologic diseases [in French] Rev Neurol (Paris). 1996;152(4):239-48 Hugon J, Vallat
JM, Dumas M
[14] Methylcobalamin
attenuates the hypoxia/hypoglycemia- or glutamate-induced reduction in
hippocampal fiber spikes in vitro. Eur J Pharmacol. 1995
Aug 15;281(3):335-40 Yamamoto Y, Shibata S, Hara C, Watanabe S
[15] Relation of
partial deficiency of cobalamins to occurrence of diabetic neuropathy. Gato Y et al., eds., Diabetic Neuropathy, Excerpta Medica
International Congress Series 581, Amsterdam. 1982:114-119. Tanaka
N, Yamazaki Y, Sakato H, Maeno H et al. [not available online]
[16] Veggies
run risk of strokes for lack of vit. B-12 The Times of
India website, 16 Jul, 2004 Pallavi Polanki
[17] The
vegetarian lifestyle and DNA methylation. Clin Chem Lab
Med. 2005; 43(10):1164-9 Geisel J, Schorr H, Bodis M, Isber S,
Hübner U, Knapp JP, Obeid R, Herrmann W
[18] What every
vegan should know about vitamin B12 Vegan Society
website, 2003
