Vitamin B12 deficiency due to a strictly vegetarian diet in adolescence

A 14-year-old white girl suffered from severe neurologic disturbances caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, due to failure to provide vitamin B12 supplementation to a strictly vegetarian diet. The disturbances resolved completely following treatment with vitamin B12. Physicians should be alert to the necessity for vitamin B12 supplementation for strict vegetarians, who eat no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products.