VITAMIN B12, HAEMOGLOBIN AND IRON CONCENTRATION IN HUMAN BRAIN TISSUE

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Abstract
After it has been demonstrated that vitamin B12 moves with relative ease from the blood stream to the spinal fluid and as its concentration in the brain tissue is known to be higher than in most other tissues, interest has been centered on the route of its transport from the blood stream to the central nervous system. Therefore, a study of its concentration in the choroid plexus and in some other well-defined areas of the central nervous system was carried out. In this connection, the hemoglobin content of the tissue specimens was determined. As only a few studies on this subject have been reported, their results are given as well. Furthermore, the total iron content in brain tissue was determined, to be compared with the iron content conditioned by the hemoglobin content. (1) Total brain tissue contains about 20 ng [nanogram] vitamin B12 per g fresh tissue. The choroid plexus contains a considerably higher concentration. Grey matter contains more vitamin B12 than does white matter. (2) When disregarding the choroid plexus, the hemoglobin content in the various tissue specimens differs but little, and there is no difference between the contents of the individual types of tissue. The computed content of whole blood varied around 0. 6% fresh tissue, which is somewhat lower than, but in the same range as previous findings in cat brains. (3) The total iron content in the total brain is around 0. 04 mg per g fresh tissue. About 10% corresponds to the hemoglobin content in the tissue.