Why do Anisocytes seen in Live Blood Analysis cause of fatigue?

We are now on week 4 of the Live Blood Analysis Training Course and studying anisocytes – often associated with B12 deficiency and a common cause of fatigue.

Our tutor explains that the fatigue is due to 2 factors:

1) Vitamin B12 deficiency causes anemia, which then reduces the amount of oxygen that can be carried by the red blood cells which can result in fatigue.

2) The change in size of the cell also leads to fatigue:

A normal RBC is usually 6-8 microns in size and the diameter a capillary is 5-10 microns. Gas exchange is facilitated by close contact between the RBC membranes and the capillary wall as the RBCs squeeze to pass through.

This squeezing effect does not occur when the RBCs are smaller than normal as they simply slip through.

Larger than normal RBCs fold to pass through, which also reduces contact with the capillary wall.

So the RBCs can’t carry as much oxygen as they should, due to a reduced haemoglobin level, and they can’t exchange the oxygen they do carry because they’re not the optimal size for gas exchange at a cellular level.

More info on Anisocytes:

Appearance:

Red blood cells that vary in size, some larger than normal (Macrocytes) and some smaller than normal (Microcytes).

Relevance:

In normal live samples all the RBCs should generally be the same size. Anisocytosis is significant if the RBCs exhibit more than the normal variation of size with the presence of microcytes and/or macrocytes.

Implications:

♦ Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency. ♦ Iron deficiency (microcytes and target cells). ♦ Liver disease. ♦ Poor absorption. ♦ Food allergy. ♦ Megaloblastic anaemia, pernicious anaemia and aplastic anaemia.   ♦ Hypothyroidism.

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Copyright Dr Okker R. Botha, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2009