Posted by susie on August 06, 1998 at 21:24:13:

In Reply to: Re: narcolepsy? food and vitiams posted by marie on August 03, 1998 at 00:53:41:

Ashley Howden, of Blackwell Scientific Publications in Australia, graciously and propmty responded to my request for a copy of the B-12 paper by faxing me a copy at no cost.
The paper discuses the treatment of a case of recurrent hypersomnia in a 32 year old man that had gotten progressively worse over a 12 year period. It appears that this also falls under the category of "Kline-Levin syndrome". It is rare, and different patients do not always show exactly the same array of symptoms, except for the recurrent periods of hypersomnia which last for days. The patient had been given a wide array of drugs, all with minimal or no benefits. As of the time the paper was published (1995) the basis for the hypersomnia was not known. There were no laboratory abnormalities, and CAT scans and MRIs were normal. The patient was observed for 4 weeks prior to beginning the B-12 treatment.
The treatment consisted of administering three tablets (0.5 mg each) of Vitamin B-12 daily. from May to October 1993. During this time the patient had NO hypersomnia episodes. Dr.Yamada writes that the improvement appeared IMMEDIATELY after administration of the B-12. The B-12 treatment was stopped and the patient remained free of the hypersomnia under continued medical observation through March 1995.
Why and how the B-12 worked was not understood. Dr. Yamada suggested several possible ideas about this but that additional study is needed. He also suggested that the B-12 may have promoted the spontaneous remission of the hypersomnia, or that there was a possibility that the patient spontaneously recovered on his on and the association of coincidence could not be ruled out without further scientific study. There are 15 literature citations in the paper.
Marie, if you would like a copy of the paper I could fax one to you. Let me know.

Susie

Follow Ups:

• Re: vitamin B-12 Original ref info/dosage used MARIE 8/12/98 (3)
  • Re: vitamin B-12 Original ref info/dosage used susie 8/12/98 (2)
    • Re: vitamin B-12 Original ref info/dosage used MARIE 8/14/98 (0)
    • Re: vitamin B-12 Original ref info/dosage used MARIE 8/12/98 (0)

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