Bloody Minded

Two vitamins survived the great B-numbering cull to become the tests we order most and trust least. Meet the 80% of your B12 result your cells can't touch, and the antibody that sabotages the very test built to catch it. Join the Bloody Minded Crew as we come to the lab for a second time this season to learn how B12 and folate assays are performed. 
TIMESTAMPS
0:55 - The boys check out a new lab
 2:25 - Episode overview
 3:43 - Sample requirements
 4:12 - B12 refresher
 6:03 - Total B12 assays
 9:36 - Caveats in interpretation
 14:00 - Active B12
 15:59 - MMA and Homocysteine
 18:13 - Folate testing
 22:18 - Take home messages
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Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au

‘This bad boy can fit so much iron in it’ he said slapping the roof of a badly photoshopped molecule of apoferritin superimposed on a car. Is too much ferritin bad for you? Of course it is - too much is precisely the quantity that is in excess. But most of the time hyperferritinaemia has nothing to do with iron overload. Strap in to your 1992 Honda Civic as the Bloody Minded Crew learn all about ferritin, and why most of the time too much of it has nothing to do with your iron levels at all. Also join Cale specifically as he continues his vendetta against hepatology and their referrals. 
Timestamps
0:59 - Bashar visits the salon
2:03 - Hyperferritinaemia overview
3:13 - Ferritin vs Iron Overload
6:08 - Signs and Symptoms associated with Hyperferritinaemia
10:50 - Causes of Hyperferritinaemia w/o Iron Overload
16:59 - Hyperferritinaemia w/ Iron Overload
21:30 - Chelation
22:43 - Erythoferrone
24:16 - Summary
Support the show
Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au

It's a BONUS episode today as the Bloody Minded Crew are delighted to partner with the Thrombosis and Haemostasis Society of Australia and New Zealand (THANZ). After (correctly) exiling Nick to another country after he suggested yet more coagulation themed episodes, he's returned like Gandalf stronger and more powerful than ever. We cornered THANZ members at the International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2026 meeting to chat about what was keeping them interested.
Special thanks to Dr Danny Hsu, Dr Sara Ng, Dr George Mason, Dr Angela Huang, Dr Ibrahim Tohini-Esfahani, Dr Emily Powley, Dr Catherine Neal, Dr Marc Ellis, Dr Charithani Keragala, Hadley Bortz and Danielle Boyle for their contributions.
Check out the THANZ website (www.thanz.org.au) and consider signing up if you're an Australian based scientist, clinician, nurse or allied health professional with an interest in Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
There will be no show notes for this episode and our regular programming will continue as usual. 
Support the show
Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au

Nick wanted to talk about buckets all episode. I’ve convinced him to at least let us get angry at iron polymaltose, hypophosphatemia and nangs all over again. You don’t think you need this episode but you’d be amazed how many consults come through to Haem thinking we’re the gatekeepers of iron in the building. Ironic, really.
TIMESTAMPS
0:56 - 1960s pop culture reference
3:20 - Episode overview
4:40 - Iron deficiency
6:28 - Pica chat
7:53 - Presentations of iron deficiency
8:36 - Causes of iron deficiency
11:10 - Taking a menstrual history
12:53 - Non-menstrual causes of iron deficiency
14:40 - Oral iron replacement
18:19 - IV iron replacement
25:01 - Folate deficiency
27:18 - Folate replacement
29:18 - B12 deficiency
31:19 - Causes of B12 deficiency
32:00 - Diagnosis of B12 deficiency
32:55 - B12 replacement
34:58 - Dealing with concurrent deficiencies
36:20 - Take home messages
Support the show
Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au

On the Ning Nang Nongs where the youths smoke bongs and the marrow all screams HELP! Join the Bloody Minded crew as they go through the round window, follow B12 and folate around the body in a Nang induced haze, presumably just like the writers on Play School once were. 
Mandatory viewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SUU1f3Mgpc&list=RD3SUU1f3Mgpc&start_radio=1
TIMESTAMPS
0:53 - A Bloody Minded After School Special
1:50 - Megaloblastic Anaemias
2:59 - An Intro to B12
7:49 - B12 Absorption
12:55 - Role of B12
15:07 - MMA + Homocysteine
16:40 - Causes of B12 Deficiency
20:04 - Nangs - Again
23:18 - Intro to Folate
25:32 - Folate Absorption
27:03 - Folate Deficiency
30:00 - Concurrent B12 + Folate Deficiency
32:18 - Take Home Messages
Support the show
Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) extra content at www.bloodyminded.com.au