Axis-Shield responds to Scottish Parliament's concern over the lack of reliable tools to aid in the diagnosis of Vitamin B12 deficiencies
Vitamin B12 deficiency poses a significant public health problem, affecting more than 100,000 Scots, and is especially common in elderly populations.
Although the deficiency can be treated with Vitamin B12 supplements, it has been associated with the development of neurodegenerative conditions, some of which may be irreversible, and early detection can play a critical role in preventing permanent neurological damage.
While current methods for diagnosing B12 deficiencies have shown themselves to be unreliable and may fail to identify as many as 50% of deficient patients. Axis-Shield Limited, a provider of in vitro diagnostics, has developed an innovative new product, Active-B12, to address these diagnostic gaps.
It was revealed during the parliamentary debate that Active-B12 offered superior accuracy compared to the other available blood tests for the diagnosis of B12 deficiency.
Additionally, all of the speakers who participated in the debate urged general practitioners and health boards to adopt Active-B12 as their primary diagnostic tool for these cases, and data from several recent publications support the view that Active-B12 is the most effective front-line assay for the diagnosis of B12 deficiency.
"We are pleased that Scottish Parliament understands the serious risks pernicious anaemia and Vitamin B12 deficiency pose to public health," said Colin King, a managing director from Axis-Shield.
Axis-Shield plans to launch an ELISA-based (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) format within the next few weeks.
