Question

Deficiency of vitamin E typically causes which of the following?

• A. Hemorrhagic stroke
• B. Cardiac failure
• C. Ataxia
• D. Megaloblastic anemia

Hint:

This fat-soluble antioxidant protects neurons; its lack hits the cerebellum and posterior columns.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Vitamin E (tocopherol) is a fat-soluble vitamin and the body's main lipid-phase antioxidant. It protects cell membranes, especially neuronal membranes, from oxidative damage.

Step 2: When vitamin E is deficient, neurons with long axons are most vulnerable. This produces a spinocerebellar syndrome with ataxia, loss of position and vibration sense, and areflexia. Therefore ataxia is the expected manifestation.

Step 3: Deficiency is uncommon because tocopherols are abundant in oils, eggs, meat, and leafy vegetables. It is mainly seen with fat malabsorption, pancreatic exocrine failure, or abetalipoproteinemia, since absorption depends on normal fat handling.

Step 4: The distractors are wrong: hemorrhagic stroke and cardiac failure are not features of vitamin E deficiency, and megaloblastic anemia results from folate or vitamin B12 deficiency, not vitamin E.