Vitamins: vitamin E deficiency: practice question

A Biochemistry question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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Biochemistry · Vitamins: vitamin E deficiency

Sample item

A 6-year-old boy has fat malabsorption since infancy, acanthocytes on the blood film, very low plasma cholesterol and absent apolipoprotein B. He now has progressive ataxia and areflexia. Which vitamin deficiency chiefly accounts for the neurological disease?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

A. Vitamin E

Abetalipoproteinaemia results from loss of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, so chylomicrons and VLDL cannot be assembled. Fat-soluble vitamins are poorly absorbed and transported; vitamin E deficiency produces spinocerebellar ataxia, areflexia and retinopathy through membrane lipid peroxidation. High-dose vitamin E is part of treatment.

Option by option

  • A. Vitamin E (correct)

    Correct. Without lipoprotein transport, vitamin E deficiency injures large-fibre neurons.

  • B. Vitamin C

    Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, with collagen defects and bleeding.

  • C. Thiamine

    Thiamine deficiency causes beriberi and Wernicke encephalopathy and is not related to lipid malabsorption.

  • D. Vitamin B12

    Vitamin B12 deficiency causes subacute combined degeneration and macrocytosis, and is not caused by apoB loss.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

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Questions about this Biochemistry question

What is the answer to this Biochemistry question?

The best answer is A, Vitamin E. Abetalipoproteinaemia results from loss of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, so chylomicrons and VLDL cannot be assembled.

Why is "Vitamin C" not the answer?

Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, with collagen defects and bleeding.

Why is "Thiamine" not the answer?

Thiamine deficiency causes beriberi and Wernicke encephalopathy and is not related to lipid malabsorption.

Why is "Vitamin B12" not the answer?

Vitamin B12 deficiency causes subacute combined degeneration and macrocytosis, and is not caused by apoB loss.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Vitamins: vitamin E deficiency in Biochemistry. Fat-soluble vitamins are poorly absorbed and transported; vitamin E deficiency produces spinocerebellar ataxia, areflexia and retinopathy through membrane lipid peroxidation. High-dose vitamin E is part of treatment.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Vitamins: vitamin E deficiency?

Build one table of enzyme deficiency, disease, inheritance and key finding, then revise it by spaced recall. Then use the flashcards and the other Biochemistry questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.