Indication

Essential fatty acid deficiency

Essential fatty acid deficiency is a rare nutritional and metabolic disorder caused by insufficient intake, severe malabsorption, or impaired metabolism of the polyunsaturated fatty acids that humans cannot synthesize de novo, primarily linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3). Read more about Essential fatty acid deficiency

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About Essential fatty acid deficiency.

Essential fatty acid deficiency is a rare nutritional and metabolic disorder caused by insufficient intake, severe malabsorption, or impaired metabolism of the polyunsaturated fatty acids that humans cannot synthesize de novo, primarily linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3).

It most frequently affects vulnerable populations, including premature infants, patients with severe malabsorptive syndromes, and individuals maintained on fat-free or fat-restricted parenteral nutrition.

Clinically, the deficiency impairs cell membrane integrity and eicosanoid production, resulting in generalized scaly or erythematous dermatitis, alopecia, impaired wound healing, increased susceptibility to infection, thrombocytopenia, and, in pediatric cohorts, growth faltering and cognitive deficits.

Pathophysiologically, depletion of essential precursors triggers the compensatory enzymatic elongation and desaturation of oleic acid to Mead acid, which is biochemically characterized by an elevated plasma triene-to-tetraene (Holman index) ratio.

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