Vitamin A Deficiency

A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of VITAMIN A in the diet, characterized by NIGHT BLINDNESS and other ocular manifestations such as dryness of the conjunctiva and later of the cornea (XEROPHTHALMIA). Vitamin A deficiency is a very common problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries as a consequence of famine or shortages of vitamin A-rich foods. In the United States it is found among the urban poor, the elderly, alcoholics, and patients with malabsorption. (From Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 19th ed, p1179)

Also Known As:

Networked: 1471 relevant articles (50 outcomes, 149 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Measles
2.	Blindness (Hysterical Blindness)
3.	Iron-Deficiency Anemia (Anemia, Iron Deficiency)
4.	Weight Gain
5.	Anemia

Experts

1.	Tanumihardjo, Sherry A: 11 articles (11/2015 - 01/2004)
2.	West, Clive E: 8 articles (01/2007 - 09/2002)
3.	West, Keith P: 7 articles (01/2014 - 09/2002)
4.	Blaner, William S: 6 articles (04/2015 - 12/2003)
5.	Chen, Jie: 6 articles (04/2015 - 12/2011)
6.	Ruth, Laird J: 6 articles (05/2014 - 04/2005)
7.	Semba, Richard D: 6 articles (11/2010 - 05/2003)
8.	Muhilal,: 6 articles (11/2004 - 07/2000)
9.	Thurnham, David I: 5 articles (09/2015 - 03/2003)
10.	Bhutta, Zulfiqar A: 5 articles (09/2015 - 05/2008)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Vitamin A Deficiency:

1.	Vitamin A (Retinol)FDA LinkGeneric 02/01/2015 - "through food-based approaches, including fortification, and through regular low-dose supplementation-are highly effective in increasing serum retinol (SR) and reducing vitamin A deficiency; (iii) therefore a policy shift is needed, based on consideration of current evidence. " 01/01/2010 - "Beginning in the 1960s, intervention trials showed that vitamin A deficiency disorders could be prevented in developing countries with periodic vitamin A dosing, and in the 1980s and 1990s, large randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials demonstrated the marked efficacy of vitamin A supplementation in reducing childhood mortality." 05/01/2006 - "The proposal of the present study was to assess the efficacy of supplementation with high retinol doses in HIV-infected patients with vitamin A deficiency. " 03/01/2010 - "A single dose of 200,000 IU (60 mg) vitamin A administered orally to a group of preschool children with a high prevalence of vitamin A deficiency enhanced serum retinol and Hb concentrations, decreased the prevalence of anaemia and vitamin A deficiency and improved the constitutive phagocytic capacity of neutrophils. " 01/01/2003 - "Consumption of RPO incorporated in a sweet snack or biscuits significantly improved plasma retinol concentrations in children with subclinical vitamin A deficiency. "
2.	Carotenoids (Carotene)IBA 12/01/2014 - "Efforts are underway for development of crops with improved levels of provitamin A carotenoids to help combat dietary vitamin A deficiency. " 10/01/2012 - "Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) persists in Uganda and the consumption of β-carotene-rich orange sweet potato (OSP) may help to alleviate it. " 04/01/1997 - "Use of carotene-rich foods to combat vitamin A deficiency in India--a multicentric study by the Nutrition Foundation of India." 07/01/1996 - "Results of studies on the relationship between dietary carotenoids and vitamin A deficiency were evaluated critically. " 01/01/2015 - "Cassava roots rich in β-carotene are an important staple food for populations with risk of vitamin A deficiency. "
3.	beta Carotene (Betacarotene)FDA Link 09/01/2000 - "The objective of this study was to measure the impact of vitamin A deficiency in the rat on several functional aspects of beta-carotene uptake and intestinal retinyl ester hydrolysis. " 01/01/1996 - "This study indicates that RPO is an efficient source of beta-carotene which is found to be bioavailable in all the subjects tested, hence it can be used for supplementary feeding programmes to combat vitamin A deficiency in target population." 08/01/2013 - "Although RPO interventions have also been shown to effectively prevent Vitamin A deficiency, there are numerous challenges in using beta-carotene from RPO as a fortification technique. " 04/01/2010 - "Breeding to increase beta-carotene levels in cereal grains, termed provitamin A biofortification, is an economical approach to address dietary vitamin A deficiency in the developing world. " 10/28/2009 - "Overall, the high in vitro bioaccessibility of beta-carotene from heat-processed OFSP indicates that sweet potato might be a promising dietary approach to combat vitamin A deficiency."
4.	IronIBA 03/01/2012 - "In this study, we performed animal and in vitro experiments to investigate the effect of vitamin A deficiency on iron regulator protein-2 (IRP2). " 01/01/2010 - "The present study aimed to assess the effect of vitamin A deficiency on iron bioavailability and utilization in rats. " 12/01/2014 - "After adjusting for HRP2, along with APP, the estimated prevalence of iron deficiency (pF < 12 μg/L) increased from 38.7% to 50.6% and vitamin A deficiency (RBP < 0.84 μmol/L) decreased from 33.4% to 27.7%. " 10/01/2014 - "Vitamin A deficiency indirectly modulates systemic iron homeostasis by enhancing erythrophagocytosis of undifferentiated erythrocytes. " 10/01/2014 - "Vitamin A deficiency modulates iron metabolism via ineffective erythropoiesis."
5.	VaccinesIBA 08/15/2011 - "However, the impact of vitamin A deficiency on the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of vaccines has not been defined previously. " 01/01/2013 - "Widespread vitamin A deficiency is associated with reduced efficacy of vaccines and higher incidence of diarrheal infections in children in developing countries. " 12/01/1991 - "Policy implications of these findings for programmes to reduce morbidity and mortality from persistent diarrhoea include development of effective vaccines against dysentery-causing Shigella, programmes to prevent vitamin A deficiency, protein energy malnutrition and acute respiratory infections in children, and long-term programmes to provide clean water for all day-to-day needs." 01/01/2012 - "To protect against the consequences of vitamin A deficiency the World Health Organization recommends that high-dose vitamin A supplements be given together with routine vaccines to children between 6 months and 5 years of age in more than 100 low-income countries. "
6.	Tretinoin (Retinoic Acid)FDA LinkGeneric 05/01/2015 - "In the present study, by combining fate analysis of pulse-labeled cells and a model of vitamin A deficiency, we demonstrate that retinoic acid (RA), which may periodically increase in concentration in the tubules during the seminiferous epithelial cycle, induced only NGN3(+) cells to differentiate. " 07/01/2010 - "During fetal life, the rate of nephrogenesis is influenced by local retinoic acid (RA) level such that even moderate maternal vitamin A deficiency limits the final nephron number in rodents. " 03/01/2010 - "Vitamin A deficiency alters rat lung alveolar basement membrane: reversibility by retinoic acid." 02/01/2010 - "The data provide a mechanistic explanation to the nearly 100-yr-old question of why vitamin A deficiency causes so many pathologies that are independent of retinoic acid action." 01/01/2008 - "Here, we investigated the effects of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) on neurogenesis and memory and the ability of retinoic acid (RA) treatment to prevent VAD-induced impairments. "
7.	ZincIBA 11/01/2004 - "This study shows that in vitamin A deficiency there is Th1 dominance in a steady state, combined however with impairment of the Th1 response after stimulation, whereas in zinc deficiency, there is a decreased Th2 response. " 01/01/2014 - "Simultaneous zinc and vitamin A deficiency are common health problems in developing countries. " 01/01/2013 - "Wasting and stunting were higher than the national average, alongside high rates of anaemia, zinc and vitamin A deficiencies. " 09/01/2012 - "There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of zinc and vitamin A deficiencies or in growth at any time. " 01/01/2012 - "To assess the independent and interaction effects of prenatal zinc and vitamin A deficiencies on birthweight in rural Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. "
8.	RetinoidsIBA 03/01/1991 - "These studies showed that altered permeability is associated with the epithelial abnormality during vitamin A deficiency and helped clarify the physiologic function of retinoids in the ocular surface epithelia in the nondeficient state." 01/01/2014 - "Topical retinoids in skin ageing: a focused update with reference to sun-induced epidermal vitamin A deficiency." 01/01/2008 - "Both vitamin A deficiency and high doses of retinoids can result in learning and memory impairments, depression as well as decreases in cell proliferation, neurogenesis and cell survival. " 08/01/2000 - "Mutant mice with an inactivated CRBP gene show decreased liver retinyl ester storage, a shorter elimination half-life of liver retinoids, and predisposition to vitamin A deficiency. " 07/01/2000 - "Although it has long been appreciated that retinoids play an essential role in kidney organogenesis, it has only recently been recognized that even mild fetal vitamin A deficiency syndromes can result in a reduction in nephron number. "
9.	Messenger RNA (mRNA)IBA 07/01/1997 - "Vitamin A deficiency caused a significant reduction in cAMP stimulation of PEPCK mRNA levels in liver. " 05/01/2013 - "Similarly, the nutritional vitamin A deficiency phase shifted BMAL1 and abolished PER1 circadian expression at both mRNA and protein levels. " 03/01/2012 - "The IRP2 mRNA level of the rats in the test groups was approximately two times that of the control group, whereas the Fn mRNA level and the TfR mRNA level were downregulated and upregulated, respectively, by the vitamin A deficiency. " 01/01/2012 - "Furthermore, vitamin A deficiency negatively regulate the liver and verterbral body mRNA levels of RALDH1, RALDH2, RALDH3, RAR-α, RAR-β and RAR-γ. " 12/01/2011 - "Vitamin A deficiency resulted in decreased mRNA levels of RARα, RARβ and NR1 (P<.05). "
10.	retinol palmitate (retinyl palmitate)FDA Link 09/01/1992 - "Efficacy of massive oral doses of retinyl palmitate and mango (Mangifera indica L.) consumption to correct an existing vitamin A deficiency in Senegalese children." 07/30/2014 - "Oil fortification with retinyl palmitate is intended to lower the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in populations at risk. " 12/01/2004 - "Retinyl palmitate is taken up when it is applied topically to either metaplastically mutated rat vaginal epithelium (as a gel) or to human meta- and dysplastic bronchial epithelia (via inhalation) that have a vitamin A deficiency. " 09/28/2001 - "These data demonstrate that squamous changes induced by vitamin A deficiency can be totally reversed with topically applied retinyl palmitate." 07/01/1995 - "Vitamin A deficiency in mallards was defined as hepatic levels of retinyl palmitate < 2 micrograms/g liver. "

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Enteral Nutrition (Feeding, Tube) 11/01/2002 - "The results suggested that healthy premature infants were prone to subclinical vitamin A deficiency during the first week of life which could be treated by adequate enteral feeding and routine multivitamin supplementation. " 10/01/1996 - "Our retrospective analysis of data from these infants confirms earlier reports from other workers that persistent marked vitamin A deficiency in very low birthweight infants is associated with a high incidence of severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, delayed onset of enteral feeding and low enteral intake of vitamin A."
2.	Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass) 11/01/2010 - "The purpose of the present study was to determine the incidence of vitamin A deficiency after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and to correlate the laboratory findings with ocular symptoms potentially related to vitamin A deficiency. " 01/01/2014 - "Vitamin A deficiency after gastric bypass surgery has also been reported in the literature, but the reported cases again fall below the actual figures. " 01/01/2011 - "Few data are available on vitamin A deficiency in the gastric bypass population. " 01/01/2011 - "Vitamin a deficiency after gastric bypass surgery: an underreported postoperative complication." 12/01/2009 - "An ocular examination, electrophysiologic testing, as well as visual field and OCT examinations were obtained on a 61-year-old man with vitamin A deficiency who had previously undergone gastric bypass surgery. "
3.	Bariatric Surgery 02/01/2013 - "This study aims to describe the clinical consequences of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in pregnant women after bariatric surgery. " 07/01/2013 - "Vitamin A deficiency may occur after malabsorptive bariatric surgery. " 07/01/2013 - "Severe vitamin A deficiency after malabsortive bariatric surgery." 02/01/2013 - "Vitamin a deficiency in pregnancy: perspectives after bariatric surgery." 06/01/2012 - "Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) after bariatric surgery is recognised as a significant post-operative complication that can lead to visual impairment. "
4.	Hepatectomy 09/01/1995 - "The effect of vitamin A deficiency on hepatic regeneration in male and female rats was studied after partial hepatectomy. " 09/01/1995 - "Effect of vitamin A deficiency on the integrity of hepatocytes after partial hepatectomy." 09/01/1995 - "This study demonstrates the importance of vitamin A for the survival of hepatocytes both in intact vitamin A-deficient liver and after partial hepatectomy, whereas the ductal cells appear to be less sensitive to vitamin A deficiency." 05/01/1994 - "We have studied the effect of vitamin A deficiency on the expression of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha), hepatocyte growth factor, acidic fibroblast growth factor, and TGF-beta 1 after partial hepatectomy of vitamin A-supplemented and vitamin A-deficient rats. "
5.	Biliopancreatic Diversion 03/01/2011 - "[Phrynoderma secondary to vitamin A deficiency in a patient with biliopancreatic diversion]." 08/01/2003 - "Symptomatic vitamin A deficiency following biliopancreatic diversion." 07/01/2006 - "Maternal vitamin A deficiency and neonatal microphthalmia: complications of biliopancreatic diversion?" 08/01/2002 - "Vitamin A deficiency in a newborn resulting from maternal hypovitaminosis A after biliopancreatic diversion for the treatment of morbid obesity." 12/01/2010 - "[Vitamin A deficiency and bowel-associated dermatosis-arthritis syndrome secondary to biliopancreatic diversion for obesity]."