The journey to a cure began with George Whipple , who was studying blood regeneration in anemic dogs. Due to a happy laboratory accident where a technician fed the dogs raw liver instead of cooked food, Whipple realized that .
In 1930, researcher William Castle conducted clever experiments feeding patients predigested meat and gastric juices. He deduced that a normal stomach secretes an that must bind with an "Extrinsic Factor" (the antipernicious anemia factor in food) to allow the body to absorb it. Patients with pernicious anemia, he discovered, lacked this intrinsic factor due to stomach atrophy. 3. Isolation of Vitamin B12 (1948) Pernicious anemia: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia antipernicious anemia factor
Eating massive amounts of raw or lightly cooked liver was nauseating and difficult for patients to sustain. Scientists knew there was a specific compound in the liver curing the disease—the "antipernicious anemia factor"—but they didn't know what it was. The journey to a cure began with George
In 1849, British physician Thomas Addison provided the first clear description of the disease, which is why it was originally known as Addisonian anemia. He deduced that a normal stomach secretes an