Vitamin e deficiency symptoms

What is vitamin E deficiency? Vitamin E deficiency is a rare condition that causes nerves damage. It causes neuromuscular problems, including myopathies and spinocerebellar ataxia.
Anemia is caused by deficiency too. Anemia is a condition which is caused by oxidative damage to the red blood cells.

E vitamin deficiency is rare. Most people think that it is caused by having a poor diet. This is not true. Deficiency is caused by the inability to absorb dietary fat, or rare fat metabolism disorders.
Premature babies with very low birth weight also causes vitamin E deficiency.

Symptoms of Vitamin E Deficiency

What are the main symptoms of vitamin E deficiency? They are nonspecific neurologic deficits and mild hemolytic anemia. Retinopathy and progressive neuropathy are usually caused by abetalipoproteinemia in first two decades of life. E vitamin deficiency contributes to the retinopathy of pre-maturity in premature infants. The deficiency also causes neonates hemorrhage in some cases of subependymal and intraventricular. The affected neonates results in weakness in the muscles.

Neurologic deficits, such as spinocerebellar ataxia with the loss of deep tendon reflexes, are caused by cystic fibrosis or chronic cholestatic hepatobiliary disease in children. It also causes limb ataxia and truncal, ophthalmoplegia, loss of position senses and vibration, ptosis, dysarthria , and muscle weakness. Vitamin E deficiency does not often cause spinocerebellar ataxia in malabsorption adults.

Vitamin E deficiency diagnosis

How do we diagnose vitamin E deficiency? To measure the status of vitamin E, the alpha-tocopherol content is assessed in the blood plasma by using high-pressure liquid chromatography method. A 5.0 mg/l, or above alpha-tocopherol blood plasma levels is a sign normal vitamin E status. However, a blood plasma level which is below 5.0 mg/l is a sign of E vitamin deficiency.

A continued injections of 100 mg alpha-tocopherol for six months can treat vitamin E deficiency that occurs with other malabsorption syndromes, or cholestatic liver disease. Premature infants who are suffering from Vitamin E deficiency require only a few weeks of treatment.

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External links:
nih.gov: Vitamin e