Abstract
To assess the incidence and severity of essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency in chronic liver disease in children and its relationship to vitamin E status we have measured, by GLC, fatty acid(FA) composition of phospholipid in plasma and RBC, and plasma vitamin E (VE) by HPLC in 10 normal children and 57 with Liver disease (22 biliary atresia (BA) 13 jaundiced, 11 biliary hypoplasia (BH) 9 jaundiced, 10 chronic active hepatitis (CAH), 14 miscellaneous liver diseases (MISC)). In CAH and in MISC both plasma VE and FA values in RBC were normal. In both BA and BH EFA were deficient especially in RBC with significant mean % decreases (w-6) linoleic (BA, BH 14, 21), arachidonic (30, 41), (w-3) linolenic (72, 61), and its metabolites (53, 44). There was a significant increase in saturated FA (25, 29) and particularly palmitoleic acid (431, 859). FA 20:3w9, associated with severe deficiency was not detected. Similar but less marked changes occurred in plasma. In 27 VE deficient children the mean % total w-6 and w-3 FA of RBC phospholipid were significantly reduced (26, 50) when compared to 40 children with normal VE. Correction of VE deficiency by IM injections in 2 patients returned EFA to normal levels. We conclude that both VE and EFA deficiency are common in cholestatic disorders and that VE is important in maintaining the EFA content in phospholipid membranes as found in the RBC.
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Cheeseman, P., Poovorawan, Y., Stewart, C. et al. DEFICIENCY OF ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS IN PLASMA AND RED BLOOD CELL PHOSPHOLIPIDS AND VITAMIN E STATUS IN CHILDREN WITH LIVER DISEASE. Pediatr Res 20, 702 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198607000-00104
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198607000-00104