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Weight-Loss Surgery Caution: Take Your
Vitamins
(HealthDay News, 3/12/07)
Dr. Sonal Singh of the Wake Forest University School of
Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Dr. Abhay Kumar of the
University of Iowa reviewed medical literature and located
32 cases of Wernicke encephalopathy following obesity
surgery. This brain illness results from a deficiency of
thiamine (vitamin B 1) and its symptoms may include
vomiting, confusion, lack of coordination and visual
changes. The investigators noted that the chance of
developing this syndrome are very small, but when it does
occur it is usually from one to three months after the
weight-loss surgery. The scientists recommend preventing
this condition by taking the prescribed doses of
post-surgical supplements to offset the decreases in vitamin
absorption.
(Neurology, March 13,2007) |
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