Vitamin B-6 absorption in children with acute celiac disease and in control subjects.

The concentration of serum pyridoxal phosphate was determined before and 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes following an oral load test with 5 mg pyridoxine hydrochloride/kg body weight in 14 children with acute celiac disease and in 15 control subjects. Children with acute celiac disease suffer from a biochemical vitamin B-6 deficiency. The increase in pyridoxal phosphate of children with acute celiac disease after loading was significantly decreased when compared with that of control subjects. In children with celiac disease maximal concentration of serum pyridoxal phosphate appeared later (after 60 minutes) and was decreased in comparison to control subjects (after 30 minutes). A positive correlation existed between the net increase of pyridoxal phosphate 60 minutes following pyridoxine loading and the net increase of blood xylose 60 minutes after oral loading. The results are compatible both with a malabsorption of pyridoxine in childhood celiac disease and a shifting of the site of pyridoxine absorption from the upper part of jejunum into the more distal parts of intestine.