A 6 month old child presented with diarrhea for few days. He had dermatitic lesions on his hands and feet. Scalp hair was comparatively less. Deficiency of zinc was suspected. TRUE about acrodermatitis enteropathica is:
Acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE): It is an autosomal recessive disorder of zinc absorption. It presents in infancy, characterized by a triad of acral dermatitis (face, hands, feet, anogenital area), alopecia, and diarrhea. These infants have a defect in an intestinal zinc transpoer, the human ZIP4 protein encoded on the SLC39A4 gene. Mutations in this gene prevents appropriate enteral zinc absorption. AE classically presents during infancy on weaning from breast milk to formula or cereal, which have lower zinc bioavailability than breast milk. Ref: Jen M., Yan A.C. (2012). Chapter 130. Cutaneous Changes in Nutritional Disease. In L.A. Goldsmith, S.I. Katz, B.A. Gilchrest, A.S. Paller, D.J. Leffell, N.A. Dallas (Eds), Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine
Autosomal recessive
Autosomal dominant
Zinc treatment cures paially
Treatment life long