Radiopharmaceuticals Shilling test

Hi!Schilling test allows to find out the cause of a deficiency of vitamin B12. The patient is ingested vitamin B12 labeled with a radioactive isotope, and unlabeled vitamin B12 is administered shortly thereafter. The proportion of vitamin B12 taken excreted in the urine over the next 24 hours allows an accurate assessment of vitamin B12 absorption. Vitamin B12 deficiency is almost always due to malabsorption, therefore the result of this, the first stage of the Schilling test, is usually positive - urine contains a small amount of labeled vitamin B12. In this case, the patient is given labeled vitamin B12 associated with Castle's intrinsic factor.

interesting test

@argentum agree with it) 

@marie-curie for what purpose is the labeled vitamin B12 associated with Castle's intrinsic factor? 

@_brauer_ If absorption is impaired due to insufficient Castle's intrinsic factor, then vitamin B12 will be absorbed normally. If absorption is still reduced, the patient may have bacterial contamination of the small intestine (blind loop syndrome) or ileal disease

wow, it always seemed to me that radiopharmaceuticals are used to diagnose and treat serious diseases such as oncology.. This test looks quite simple in terms of technology and execution and at the same time allows you to identify specific causes, it looks very cool!

@marie-curie wow, it's really cool that we can identify the reasons relatively easily! Could it be that the Schilling test gives a normal result with a confirmed vitamin B12 deficiency?

@elizaveta-msu totally agree with u - I've personally only recently heard about this test for the first time

@_brauer_ A normal Schilling test result with a confirmed vitamin B12 deficiency may indicate poor absorption of dietary vitamin B12. To prove this, the Schilling test is repeated, but the labeled vitamin B12 is given with an egg protein

@marie-curie thank you for the answers! 

@marie-curie Why is egg white taken?

@argentum to be honest, I don't know, I've just seen a procedure protocol