Vitamin B12

• Vitamin B12 is an important factor in brain and nerve health, especially memory.
• Dietary Vitamin B12 is found in animal protein sources such as meat, eggs, fish and dairy products.
• As people age, they may develop difficulty absorbing B12 from the gut, even if the amount in their food sources is adequate.
• Oral supplements (usually 1000 mcg) may help, although persons with severe B12 absorption problems or deficiencies may require injections.
• Vegetarians may also develop a B12 deficiency.
• A chemical called homocysteine sometimes becomes elevated in persons with PD, often in conjunction with levodopa therapy.
• Elevation of homocysteine may be related to memory loss in some patients, although this is unproven.
• Increasing B12 and folic acid will often result in a decrease in homocysteine levels, though it is not yet known whether this will improve memory.

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