The uptake of vitamin B12 by the sediment of jejunal contents in patients with the blind-loop syndrome.

Following preincubation of intrinsic factor- (IF-) bound 57CoB12 with the jejunal sediments of 6 patients with the blind-loop syndrome, the mean uptake by the sediments of IF-57CoB12 (28.1 percent plus or minus 4.2 percent S,E.M.) was significantly higher than the mean uptake by jejunal sediments from 5 control patients (5.8 per cent plus or minus 3.5 percent) (p smaller than 0.01). The uptake by the sediments significantly decreased when the incubations were carried out in the presence of lincomycin and neomycin. The jejunal sediments from the patients with the blind-loop syndrome inhibited the uptake of IF-57CoB12 by perfused rat intestinal segments (p smaller than 0.01), whereas the sediments from the control patients had no such inhibitory effect (p smaller than 0.5).