Megaloblastic Macrocytic Anemias

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Vitamin B Complex [1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help in preventing some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. Please note, this acts as a PREVENTATIVE treatment, and not necessarily symptomatic relief. Supplements should only be taken if they contain no more than 100% of the recommended daily value

Recommendation: weakly in favor (Vitamin B may help in preventing anaemia due to its role in the production of red blood cells)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

Chlorella (Green Algae, Chlorella Pyrenoidosa) [1, 2, 3, 4]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Chlorella helps to treat anemia in any way)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. Nakano, S et al. “Maternal-fetal distribution and transfer of dioxins in pregnant women in Japan, and attempts to reduce maternal transfer with Chlorella (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) supplements...” Chemosphere 2005 Dec; 61(9): 1244–55.

3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=11347287&dopt=Abstract

4. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/chlorella

5.  http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/vitamin-b-complex

6. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-folate.html

7. Butterworth RF. Thiamin. In: Shils ME, Shike M, Ross AC, Caballero B, Cousins RJ, editors. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 10th ed. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2006.

8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18220605

9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6935482.stm

10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19061687

11. Gropper, S. S, Smith, J. L., Groff, J. L. (2009). Advanced nutrition and human metabolism. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage learning.

12. Otten, J. J., Hellwig, J. P., Meyers, L. D. (2008). Dietary reference intakes: The essential guide to nutrient requirements. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press

13. http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/vitamin-b1.htm

14. Higdon, Jane (2003). "Biotin". An evidence-based approach to vitamins and minerals. Thieme. ISBN 9781588901248.

 

Public Discussion