Correctable Intestinal Defect of Vitamin B_12 Absorption in Pernicious Anemia

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Abstract
Intestinal absorptive defects have been reported in patients with pernicious anemia (1). Malabsorption of vitamin B12 due to a defect in the ileum has also been noted, and several instances of correction by therapy of this B12 malabsorption have been reported in pernicious anemia (2-4) and in idiopathic steatorrhea (5). In this study we evaluated ten successive patients with pernicious anemia, found an ileal defect in absorption of B12 in four of them, and corrected the B12 malabsorption by B12 therapy in three of these four. The true incidence of a gross intestinal defect in absorption of B12 in patients