Vitamin E deficiency in a child with intestinal lymphangiectasia

In a seven-year-old boy with the protein-losing enteropathy due to an intestinal lymphangiectasia, a marked deficiency of both vitamin E and essential fatty acids of erythrocytes was found and urinary excretion of methylmalonic acid was detectable after an oral loading with valine. The amount of vitamin E, administered parenterally, required to maintain a normal hydrogen peroxide hemolysis test of erythrocytes was found to be about 7mg per day in the patient.