Vitamin K Function to Marasmus: Characteristics and Visuals

Vitamin K includes phytomenadione, phylloquinone, phytonadione, and menaquinone. It is activated by epoxide reductase to its reduced form, which acts as a cofactor for the gamma-carboxylation of glutamic acid residues on various proteins essential for blood clotting. This process is partly synthesized by intestinal microbiota.

Vitamin K is crucial for coagulation, necessary for the maturation of clotting factors II, VII, IX, X, and proteins C and S. It’s important to note that Warfarin inhibits the vitamin K-dependent synthesis of these factors and proteins.

Vitamin K deficiency can lead to neonatal hemorrhage, characterized by increased PT and aPTT, but with normal bleeding time. This is common in neonates because their intestines are sterile and unable to synthesize vitamin K. Deficiency can also occur after prolonged use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

It’s important to remember that vitamin K is not present in breast milk. Therefore, “breast-fed infants Don’t Know about vitamins D and K.” Neonates are routinely given a vitamin K injection at birth to prevent hemorrhagic disease of the newborn.

Zinc is a mineral essential for the activity of over 100 enzymes and is important in the formation of zinc fingers, which are transcription factor motifs.

Zinc deficiency can manifest as delayed wound healing, suppressed immunity, male hypogonadism, decreased adult hair in axillary, facial, and pubic regions, dysgeusia (altered taste), and anosmia (loss of smell). It is also associated with acrodermatitis enteropathica, which is a defect in intestinal zinc absorption, and may predispose individuals to alcoholic cirrhosis.

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This image, labeled A, illustrates the severe skin lesions associated with acrodermatitis enteropathica, a condition caused by a defect in intestinal zinc absorption.

Kwashiorkor is a form of protein malnutrition that results in characteristic skin lesions and edema. The edema is due to decreased plasma oncotic pressure, which is caused by low serum albumin levels. It also leads to liver malfunction, specifically fatty change, due to decreased apolipoprotein synthesis and deposition. The clinical picture is often a small child with a swollen abdomen, as seen in image A.

Kwashiorkor is characterized by a set of symptoms that can be remembered with the mnemonic MEALS:

• Malnutrition
• Edema
• Anemia
• Liver (fatty)
• Skin lesions (e.g., hyperkeratosis, dyspigmentation)

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Marasmus is another form of malnutrition, distinct from Kwashiorkor in that it does not typically cause edema. It results from a diet severely deficient in calories, though not all nutrients are entirely absent. A key characteristic of Marasmus is significant muscle wasting, as illustrated in image B.

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Topics Covered:

• Vitamin K Function
• Vitamin K Deficiency
• Zinc Function and Deficiency Symptoms
• Zinc Deficiency: Acrodermatitis Enteropathica
• Kwashiorkor: Definition and Clinical Picture
• Kwashiorkor: MEALS Mnemonic and Visuals
• Marasmus: Characteristics and Visuals