One patient's symptoms, which included general weakness throughout the body, began when he was only 10 years.
Vitamin E is a group of compounds found in various foods. This is important when it comes to supporting the immune system, as well as maintaining eye and skin health. Most people can get all the vitamin E they need from food, although this is not always the case.
A 16-year-old teenager lived with debilitating symptoms for six years.
“Upon admission to the neurology center, he reported progressive ataxia and general weakness,” says therapist Irina Andreeva especially for MedikForum.
Ataxia is the name of a group of disorders that affect coordination, balance and speech.
“His first symptoms began when he was 10 years old, with progressive gait disturbances and general weakness of the body. His walking difficulties were due to muscle wasting and slurred speech.”
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Following this initial assessment, he was diagnosed with Friedreich's ataxia, an inherited form of ataxia. Further examination revealed that he also suffered from tremors and dysdiadochokinesia, an inability to perform fast, alternating muscle movements.
Testing showed that he was deficient in vitamin E. His vitamin E level was 3.9 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), below the “normal” level of 6 to 10 mg/dL.
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Patient started treatment with high doses of vitamin E in the form of D-alpha-tocopherol supplements.
“Most importantly, neurological symptoms improve when levels are normal, and our symptoms of distress reappear when vitamin E levels fall. Treatment was started with oral vitamin E at 1800 mg/day.
After several weeks of vitamin E supplementation, its functional level improved significantly.
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