vitamin A deficiency
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vitamin A deficiency, nutritional disorder caused by a deficiency of vitamin A (also called retinol), a fat-soluble compound that is essential for various biological functions, especially vision. Retinaldehydes and retinoic acids are biologically active derivatives from retinol, and 11-cis retinaldehyde is an essential form of vitamin A that is required for normal vision. Retinoic acid is essential for normal cell morphogenesis, growth, and differentiation. Vitamin A is also needed for iron utilization and normal immunity. Deficiency of vitamin A can lead to visual impairment and skin lesions.
In developing countries, vitamin A deficiency is one of the common causes of blindness, affecting more than a quarter of a million children each year with a 50 percent mortality rate within the year. Increased mortality in children is primarily from infectious diseases, measles, respiratory diseases, and diarrhea. In the United States, vitamin A deficiency is typically due to diseases associated with malabsorption of fat, such as celiac disease. Because 90 percent of absorbed vitamin A is stored in the liver, zinc deficiency can also interfere with the release of vitamin A from storage. Chronic alcoholism can also cause deficiency because alcohol competes for alcohol dehydrogenase, a key enzyme required for the conversion of retinol to retinaldehyde in the eye. Other causes of deficiency include interference from drugs such as neomycin and mineral-oil laxative abuse.
Upon seeking medical help, patients often complain of difficulty seeing in the dark (night blindness), which results from low levels of 11-cis retinaldehyde, required for dark adaptation of vision. Other symptoms of deficiency include dryness of the conjunctiva (xerosis), corneal ulcers and necrosis (keratomalacia), hyperkeratotic skin lesions (increased keratinization of the epithelium), and development of small white patches on the conjunctiva (Bitot’s spots). Serum levels below the norm are commonly seen in advanced stages of deficiency.
Night blindness, poor wound healing, and other signs of deficiency can be effectively treated with appropriate levels of vitamin A. Excessive levels of vitamin A should be avoided as the vitamin is fat soluble and can accumulate in the body, leading to symptoms of vitamin A toxicity and congenital malformations in women who are pregnant.