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Alcohol-induced Malabsorption of Vitamin B12 in Man

1969; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 224; Issue: 5221 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/224806a0

1476-4687

John Lindenbaum, Charles S. Lieber,

Folate and B Vitamins Research

INTOXICATION with alcohol is frequently associated with diarrhoea, and disturbances of intestinal function have been reported to be common in chronic alcoholics studied shortly after drinking-bouts1–5. Because the normal diet of alcoholics is characteristically poor, it is not clear whether the transient malabsorption frequently found can be attributed to a direct toxic effect of ethanol on the small intestine, or to a nutritional deficiency. We therefore studied the effects of the experimental ingestion of ethanol in man on vitamin B12 absorption under controlled metabolic ward conditions in the absence of nutritional deficiency.