What is the Schilling test?
Schilling test is a four -speed medical test used to determine whether the patient has a lack of vitamin B12. It is specifically used to diagnose pernical anemia, a disease in which the amount of red blood cells decreases because the body cannot absorb vitamin B12. The Schilling test is named for Robert F. Schilling, a doctor known for research into vitamin B12 and using urine to test his absorption. Administrators then collect the patient's urine and check the level of vitamin B12. If the first phase is abnormal, then the patient moves to the 2nd phase. In the second phase, the patient is given a radioactive B12 with a stomach lining protein. The patient's intestines should absorb vitamin B12; If not, then the patient will advance to the third phase.
During the third phase, the administrator will provide patients with antibiotics for two weeks. The patient will return and the subsequent test reveal that the patient has abnormal bacterial activity that can cause low vitamin B12 levels. In the fourth phase will be the patient afterPancreatic enzymes gave for three days. If this phase of Schilling's test returns a positive result, then Pankreas is the cause of low vitamin B12.
Pernicious anemia causes fatigue, depression, nausea, heartburn and weight loss. Other symptoms include low blood pressure, muscle weakness, shortness of breath, neuropathic pain and diarrhea. Thomas Addison was the first doctor to meet this disease in 1849. At that time it was called Addison Anemia. Over the years, Richard Clarke Cabot, doctor William Bosworth Castle, George Whipple, George Minot, William Murphy, Edwin Cohn and other chemists studied this disease to learn its symptoms and how to treat.
What they found is that the vitamin B12 annealostate keeps red blood cells from normal division. When red blood cells are too large, they cannot carry enough oxygen through the body. Therefore are those suffering from malignant anemia, often uRetaining and weak.
If this disease continues over time, it can cause damage to the heart, brain and nerves. This disease can also cause stomach cancer. Years ago, if malignant anemia was not treated, it was a deadly disease; It can now be easily handled with shots or pills with vitamin B12. There were several remarkable people with cases of malignant anemia, including Alexander Graham Bell, Annie Oakley and Norman Warne.