Biochemistry: Nutrition Flashcards
What vitamins are fat soluble?
A/D/E/K
Absorption is 100% dependent on ileum and the pancreas (disorders in either can cause fat soluble vitamin deficiencies)
Toxicity is less common than water soluble toxicity
What vitamins are water soluble?
Thiamine (B1)
Riboflavin (B2)
Niacin (B3)
Pantothenic acid (B5)
Pyridoxine (B6)
Biotin (B7)
Folate (B9)
Cobalamin (B12)
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
Easier to gain toxicity of OD
- all wash out of system easily (can reverse toxicity easily) EXCEPT folate and cobalamin*
- folate stays in liver for 3-4 months
- cobalamin stays in liver 3-4 years
vitamin A (retinol/retinoic acid) function
Antioxidant
Generates retinol (helps with eye pigmentation and ability to see)
Prevents squamous cell metaplasia (cancer)
Helps epithelial tissue differentiate into mucus secreting cells
- excess is used in treatment for APL and measles*
- topical vitamin a (retinol) is used for acne sometimes*
Vitamin A (retinol/retinoic acid) deficiency effects
Night blindness
Dry scaly skin (xerosis cutis)
Bitot spots (keratin debris on conjunctiva)
Corneal degeneration
Immunosuppression
Vitamin A toxicity effects
Acute:
- nausea/vomiting/ blurry vision
Chronic
- alopecia
- dry skin
- hepatic toxicity
- intercranial HTN
is teratogenic (develops cleft palate and cardiac disfigurements)
Vitamin B1 (thiamine) function
Acts a cofactor for the following dehydrogenase reactions/enzymes:
- Branched-chained ketoacid dehydrogenase
- A-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
- Pyruvate dehydrogenase
- Transketolase (HMP shunt pathway)
“Be APT”
Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency
Impaired glucose breakdown and ATP formation
- gets worse with glucose infusion unless given thiamine first
Damages heart, brain, liver and kidney tissues first
diagnosis is made by increased RBC transketolase activity after administration of thiamine
Wet vs dry beriberi
both are precipitated via thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiencies
Dry:
- polyneuropathy
- symmetric muscle wasting
Wet:
- cardiac damage
- edema
- heart failure
Wernicke’s encephalopathy
Acute life threatning condition brought on by thiamine deficiency
- made worse if giving glucose/sugar to patients with thiamine deficiency before the thiamine injection
Symtpoms:
- neurologic issues
- classic triad of:
1) general confusion
2) opthalmoplegia (paralysis of eye muscles)
3) ataxia - treated via thiamine and glucose injections. If not treated, leads to korsakoff syndrome*
What is ataxia?
Neurological symptom that mimics drunken behaviors:
- slurred speech
- incoordination
- shuffling/staggered gate
- falling over/ poor balance
Korsakoff syndrome
Chronic thiamine deficiency syndrome often proceeded by alcoholism
- is the evolved from of wernicke’s ( however you do not always need to get wernicke’s first to have korsakoff. Just all untreated cases of wernicke’s degrades to korsakoff)
Symptoms:
- all symptoms of wernickes encephalopathy
- confabulation (making up memories that didn’t actually happen)
- personality changes
- permanent memory loss
- sometimes is called wernicke-korsakoff syndrome when the medial dorsal nucleus of the thalamus is damaged*
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) function
Helps generate FAD and FMN molecules which are used in redox (reduction-oxidation) reactions
- “B2 generates 2 ATP”
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) deficiency
Cheilosis (inflammation and scarring of the lips and corners of the mouth)
Corneal vascularization (chronic blood shot eyes)
“2 Cs of B2”
Vitamin B3 (niacin/nicotinic acid) function
Generates NAD/NADP molecules used in redox reactions
Naturally derived from tryptophan
requires B2 and B6 to generate naturally
often used in hyper-cholesterol (dyslipidemia) since it lowers VLDL and raises HDL
Vitamin B3 (niacin/nicotinic acid) deficiency
Glossitis (inflammation of the tongue)
Also generates pellagra which is the following three symptoms
- Diarrhea
- Dementia
- Dermatitis (around the C3/C4 dermatome)
“3D’s of vitamin B3”
* also hyperpigmentation of sun exposed limbs
Hartnup disease
Autosomal recessive disorder that results in a natural deficiency of tryptophan transporters in PCTs of renal system and enterocytes
- causes decreased reabsorption of vitamin B3 and natural conversation of tryptophan -> niacin
Generates pellagra symptoms
Treatment:
- high protein diet
- nicotinic acid supplements
Vitamin B3 toxicity
Leads to:
- facial flushing
- hyperglycemia
- hyperuricemia
- this is the only other time other than gout that podagra can form*