Vitamin A Deficiency – Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

Vitamin A Deficiency – Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

Write a note on pathologic changes in vitamin A deficiency.
Answer:

Following are the pathologic changes in vitamin A deficiency:

• Ocular lesions: Night blindness is the first sign of vitamin A deficiency. There is also the presence of dry and scaly scleral conjunctiva. Lacrimal duct show hyperkeratosis.
  Corneal ulcers can occur which may get infected and lead to keratomalacia. Bitot’s spots are seen which are the triangular areas of opacities that occur because of keratinized epithelium. Lastly, infection, scarring, and opacities lead to blindness.
• Cutaneous lesions: There is the development of popular lesions on the skin which gives it a toad-like appearance. This results because of follicular hyperkeratosis and
  keratin plugging in sebaceous glands.

Vitamin A deficiency

• Other lesions: Various other lesions are:
  • Squamous metaplasia of the respiratory epithelium of the bronchus and trachea leads to respiratory infections
  • Squamous metaplasia of pancreatic ductal epithelium can cause obstruction and cystic dilatation.
  • Squamous metaplasia of the urothelium of the pelvis of the kidney can cause pyelonephritis.
  • Metaplasia present for a long time can lead to anaplasia.
  • There is immune dysfunction due to damage of barrier epithelium and compromised immune defenses.