Disease Information for Vitamin E deficiency

A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of VITAMIN E in the diet, characterized by posterior column and spinocerebellar tract abnormalities, areflexia, ophthalmoplegia, and disturbances of gait, proprioception, and vibration; In premature infants vitamin E deficiency is associated with hemolytic anemia, thrombocytosis, edema, intraventricular hemorrhage, and increasing risk of retrolental fibroplasia and bronchopulmonary dysplasia; An apparent inborn error of vitamin E metabolism, named familial isolated vitamin E deficiency, has recently been identified. (Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 19th ed,)-----------------------.

In general, tocopherols act as antioxidants to prevent lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in cellular membranes; The antioxidant activity of -tocopherol is similar to that of glutathione peroxidase, which contains selenium; the main manifestations of vitamin E deficiency are (1) mild hemolytic anemia associated with increased erythrocyte hemolysis and (2) spinocerebellar disease , which occurs mainly in children who have fat malabsorption due to abetalipoproteinemia, chronic cholestatic hepatobiliary disease, celiac disease, or a genetic abnormality in vitamin E metabolism; Retinopathy of prematurity, also called retrolental fibroplasia, may improve with vitamin E therapy, and hemorrhage in the newborn; Infants are born in a state of relative vitamin E deficiency, with plasma -tocopherol levels below 5 µg/mL; The smaller and more premature the infant, the greater the degree of deficiency; Vitamin E deficiency in premature infants persists during the first few weeks of life and can be attributed to limited placental transfer of vitamin E, low tissue levels at birth, relative dietary deficiency in infancy, intestinal malabsorption, and rapid growth; As the digestive system matures, vitamin E absorption improves, and blood vitamin E levels rise; malabsorption generally underlies vitamin E deficiency; Genetic abnormality in the transport of vitamin E can also play a role; Hemolytic anemia in premature infants may be a manifestation of vitamin E deficiency; Such an infant has hemoglobin levels ranging from 7 to 9 g/dL, low plasma vitamin E levels, reticulocytosis, and hyperbilirubinemia;

(Edit)