Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024523 (malabsorption)
 7,319 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and pancreatic malabsorption frequently have vitamin E deficiency. Affected patients may develop spinocerebellar degeneration with dysarthria, ataxia, proximal weakness, proprioceptive loss and areflexia. Of a highly selected group of 10 patients with vitamin E levels below 5 micrograms/ml (normal 5-20 micrograms/ml), 7 had abnormal neurological examinations, predominantly affecting vibration and joint position perception with some severely affected patients manifesting diminished visual acuity, tremor, ataxia and diffuse weakness. Evoked potential studies showed marked abnormalities in 3 patients, demonstrating deficits in the optic pathways and in the cervical cord dorsal column pathways. Evoked potential studies may supplement careful neurological examination in patients with CF before and after supplementation with vitamin E to evaluate their progression and response to treatment.
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PMID:Visual and somatosensory evoked potentials in vitamin E deficiency with cystic fibrosis. 245 91

Subjects with a variety of enteropathies, hemolytic anemias, acute respiratory distress syndrome, hepatitis, Gaucher's disease as well as those on TPN and hemodialysis, often have low ("deficient") blood levels of vitamin E. A deficiency of vitamin E can be manifested by accelerated red blood cell destruction and neuromuscular deficit. Supplementation of these patients may be advisable. Neurological dysfunction has been observed in adults with prolonged vitamin E deficiency resulting from lipid malabsorption. Long-term treatment with high doses of vitamin E results in improvement. Administration of 800 IU/day of vitamin E to subjects with G6PD deficiency, sickle-cell anemia and beta-thalassemia has resulted in improvement of hematological parameters. Supplementation with 300 IU/day for 3-6 months has resulted in improved walking distances and improved blood flow in patients with intermittent claudication. In a limited number of controlled studies, 300-600 IU/day resulted in improvement in premenstrual syndrome, tardive dyskinesia and also arthritis. Epidemiological studies suggest that high levels of serum vitamin E are associated with lower risk of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and infections. In some cases the high levels are difficult to obtain by diet alone. High levels of vitamin E are contraindicated in subjects who are receiving vitamin K antagonists as anticoagulant therapy. Except for this interaction with vitamin K, there are no specific side effects associated with high doses of vitamin E. Thus, there are various reasons for supplementations with vitamin E and, with the exception noted, the risk of such supplementation is very low.
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PMID:Use and safety of elevated dosages of vitamin E in adults. 250 7

The use of elevated dosages of vitamin E in humans has led to the discovery of vitamin E deficiency syndromes in neurological areas. This evidence comes from careful clinical studies in which elevated vitamin E dosages were applied. In long-term studies it has now been established that retinal and neurological abnormalities are due to vitamin E deficiency and can be ameliorated by therapy with a large amount of the vitamin enterally or parenterally, which can possibly completely prevent the development of clinical manifestations if adequate treatment is given from an early age. It has also become clear that similar neurological and ocular lesions occur in other chronic fat malabsorptive states such as cholestatic liver diseases, cystic fibrosis, and extensive resection of the gut, with respect to an elevated dosage of vitamin E therapy. More recently, several patients with spinocerebellar degeneration from vitamin E deficiency without other evidence of malabsorption have been reported on in whom the progression of the diseases is cessated by the vitamin E therapy. Whether or not the use of elevated dosages of vitamin E should be recommended for certain diseases in premature infants is controversial. Previously, it has been thought that newborn infants, especially premature infants, suffer from vitamin E deficiency, because of their low plasma vitamin E concentrations and high susceptibility of erythrocytes to hydrogen peroxide hemolysis test. Furthermore, tocopherol deficiency has been implicated in four neonatal conditions: anemia of prematurity, retrolental fibroplasia (RLF), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). A hemolytic anemia, associated with thrombocytosis and edema, which is responsive to vitamin E therapy, is not well recognized and occurs in a minority of preterm infants, who were given high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their formula. However, prophylactic use of an elevated dosage of vitamin E to prevent anemia in the majority of premature infants is controversial. There is no evidence for beneficial effects in BPD. In addition, the prophylactic use of pharmacological dosages of vitamin E for prevention of RLF and IVH has also had conflicting results. In the course of therapy with elevated dosages of vitamin E, administered either orally, intramuscularly, or intravenously, many problems arose in the infants, such as unexpected death, increased frequency of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and sepsis, and the development of unusual symptoms including hepatic injuries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Use and safety of elevated dosages of vitamin E in infants and children. 250 8

Despite the well-known detrimental effect of vitamin E deficiency on the nervous system of many experimental animal models for decades, only over the past decade has vitamin E become recognized as essential for the maintenance of the structure and function of the human nervous system. This discovery of the neurologic role of vitamin E in man is due primarily to the identification of a degenerative neurologic syndrome in children and adults with chronic vitamin E deficiency caused by gastrointestinal diseases impairing fat and vitamin E absorption. A compelling body of clinical, neuropathologic, and therapeutic response evidence conclusively demonstrates that vitamin E deficiency is responsible for the neurologic disorder seen in such patients. In addition, an inborn error in vitamin E metabolism, the Isolated Vitamin E Deficiency Syndrome, causes vitamin E deficiency and similar neurologic degeneration in the absence of fat malabsorption. Guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of vitamin E deficiency in relevant clinical circumstances are provided. The possible role of vitamin E in treating other neurologic diseases is discussed.
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PMID:Vitamin E and neurologic function in man. 265 Dec 21

The literature is briefly summarized as to how several nutrients affect immune function, susceptibility to infection, and cancer susceptibility or progression. Nutritional deficiencies can impair immunity and so influence susceptibility to infectious agents, including ones that are common and relatively virulent in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. A variety of nutrients affect several of the immune functions that are defective in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. For example, beta-carotene increased the number of CD4+ cells; vitamin E decreased the number of CD8+ cells and increased the CD4+/CD8+ ratio; vitamin D decreased the CD4+/CD8+ ratio; and iron increased the number of peripheral lymphocytes in humans receiving supplementation. Furthermore, nutritional deficiencies can influence gastrointestinal function, while infectious diseases can influence nutrient requirements by altering the efficiency of absorption and the rate of tissue metabolism. Malnutrition, depressed serum zinc levels, and intestinal nutrient malabsorption have been found in AIDS patients. The above findings suggest that dietary manipulations might diminish the immune defects in HIV infection and enhance resistance to opportunistic infections. However, dietary alterations in immune defects are generally not well quantified and may be small relative to the magnitude of the defects observed in AIDS patients. Because conflicting or adverse effects have been reported for some nutrients, recommendations for dietary supplementation in HIV-infected individuals are premature and possibly hazardous. Further studies are much needed to relate dietary nutrient intakes to clinical outcomes.
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PMID:The potential role of nutritional factors in the induction of immunologic abnormalities in HIV-positive homosexual men. 265 89

Acanthocytes have a distinct morphology and are not normally found in peripheral blood. They occur in association with at least three neurological syndromes. In abetalipoproteinaemia, a progressive spinocerebellar ataxia and retinopathy occurs secondary to malabsorption of vitamin E. Cases with chorea are often familial, with orofacial dyskinesia and an axonal neuropathy causing areflexia and muscle wasting. Areflexia and a subclinical myopathy also occur in the McLeod syndrome, in which there is abnormal expression of Kell blood group antigens. The exact mechanism of acanthocytosis in each disorder remains uncertain: passive changes in membrane lipids, surface receptor/ligand interactions, and a primary membrane defect are among the possibilities.
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PMID:Acanthocytosis and neurological impairment--a review. 268 30

We report a case of the brown bowel syndrome presenting as major dilatation of the colon which resembled 'toxic dilatation' and necessitated subtotal colectomy. We confirm the reported association between the brown bowel syndrome, malabsorption, and hypovitaminosis E. Furthermore we document failure of the brown pigmentation to resolve after six months in spite of vitamin E supplements and correction of the malabsorption. Finally we suggest that, although the brown bowel syndrome is rare, it should be considered in cases of major colonic dilatation where the patient is or may be suffering from a malabsorption syndrome, and where the sigmoidoscopic appearances do not suggest severe inflammatory bowel disease.
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PMID:Brown bowel syndrome: an unusual cause of massive dilatation of the colon. 275 13

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are known to affect plasma lipids and lipoproteins but there is no information on the effect of essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency on lipoprotein composition. The purpose of this study was to characterize lipoproteins from 17 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in relationship to their EFA status (eicosatrienoic/arachidonic acid ratio) and compare them with those of 10 healthy siblings (SIB) and of 10 unrelated controls. In 7 EFA-deficient (EFAD) and 10 EFA-sufficient (EFAS) patients, hypocholesterolemia was associated with a decrease of HDL-cholesterol and of LDL-cholesterol which was more marked in the EFAD group. Similarly, although triglyceride enrichment of VLDL, LDL, HDL2, and HDL3 with a concomitant reduction of cholesteryl esters from all particles except HDL2 was observed in both CF groups, it was more sizable in the EFAD patients. These changes led to an increase in the particle size of VLDL, LDL, and HDL2 whereas the distribution of HDL3 was skewed to smaller particles. Alterations in the apoprotein composition of particles were greater in EFAD than in EFAS. A decrease of total postheparin lipolytic activity was observed in the two groups of CF patients as well as in siblings. It was entirely accounted for by hepatic lipase (mumol FFA/ml per h) which was more severely diminished in EFAD (2.8 +/- 0.6) than in EFAS (4.4 +/- 0.7) and SIB (5.1 +/- 0.5). Although the two groups of CF children differed in terms of growth, severity of malabsorption, and vitamin E status, these data suggest that disturbance of lipoprotein concentration, composition, size, and metabolism (hepatic lipase) may be in part related to EFA deficiency. Further studies are necessary to explore the effect of EFA deficiency on hepatic lipase activity.
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PMID:Relationship of decreased hepatic lipase activity and lipoprotein abnormalities to essential fatty acid deficiency in cystic fibrosis patients. 276 73

Extensive brownish discoloration of the small bowel is rare and has been described mainly in association with malabsorption disorders. It is related to deficiency of the fat soluble vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant substance that prevents peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. Vitamin E deficiency may result in oxidized lipids, which when polymerized with polysaccharides form the brown, PAS-positive pigment termed ceroid or lipofuscin. The deposition of pigmented granules in the effected tissues accounts for the brownish discoloration. We present three patients ultimately found to have "brown bowel syndrome (BBS)," in which the symptoms, preoperative findings, and respective diagnoses were different. In all three patients, serum Vitamin E levels were found to be extremely low.
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PMID:Brown-bowel syndrome. 277 66

A patient with acquired intestinal malabsorption developed a motor-sensory polyneuropathy with a recurrent remittent course, normal CSF and reduced motor and sensory conduction velocities. Nerve biopsy showed axonal changes. Serum DL-alpha-tocopherol was abnormally low. Six months supplementation with vitamin E was followed by normalization of DL-alpha-tocopherol serum levels and clinical and electrophysiological improvement.
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PMID:Neuropathy secondary to vitamin E deficiency in acquired intestinal malabsorption. 285 79


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