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Neuropsychological Profiles of Children Following Vitamin B12 Deficiency During Infancy: A Case Series

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2016

M. Greenham ,
V. Anderson ,
J. Campbell ,
P. Monagle  and
M.H. Beauchamp
M. Greenham*
Affiliation:
Child Neuropsychology, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
V. Anderson
Affiliation:
Child Neuropsychology, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
J. Campbell
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
P. Monagle
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
M.H. Beauchamp
Affiliation:
Child Neuropsychology, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Mardee Greenham, Child Neuropsychology, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia. E-mail: mardee.greenham@mcri.edu.au
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Abstract

Previous studies investigating long-term outcomes in children following vitamin B12 deficiency during infancy have been limited to IQ or clinical observation. This paper seeks to describe comprehensive neuropsychological profiles in a case series of school-aged children who were treated for infantile vitamin B12 deficiency. This was a retrospective case series of seven children who were treated for vitamin B12 deficiency during infancy and aged 5 to 16 years at the time of testing. While most children had age-expected intellectual performance, the distribution of the sample was skewed to the lower end of the normal range. Furthermore, children were found to have impairments in a number of neuropsychological domains, most common were attention and memory, followed by executive function. These results suggest that while neurological symptoms quickly resolve following treatment, these effects on early brain development may disrupt brain maturation and have the potential to impact on later development.

Keywords

cognitionbehaviourvitamin B12infancyneuropsychological
Type
Articles
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , December 2016 , pp. 242 - 253
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2016 

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