Abstract
The role of vitamin A in the maintenance of epithelial integrity is well known. Several animal studies have dealt with the induction of cholesteatoma in vitamin A deficiency states and prevention and treatment of otitis media with vitamin A treatment. We treated five patients of cholesteatoma with vitamin A oral supplements and no other treatment and found significant resolution of cholesteatoma in four patients. Though this may not be an explanation in every case of cholesteatoma, our study highlights that there is a subset of patients with vitamin A deficient cholesteatoma who could substantially benefit from intervention with this wonderful vital amine.
Keywords: Vitamin A, Cholesteatoma
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (664.1 KB).
References
- 1.Bloch C.E. Blindness and other diseases in children arising from deficient nutrition (lack of fat-soluble A factor) Am J Dis Child. 1924;27:139–148. [Google Scholar]
- 2.Clausen S.W. Carotinemia and resistance to infection. Am J Dis Child. 1931;42:698–699. [Google Scholar]
- 3.Manning S.C., Wright C.G. Incidence of otitis media in vitamin A-deficient guinea pigs. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1992;107:701. doi: 10.1177/019459989210700512. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Chole R.A. Squamous metaplasia of the middle ear mucosa during vitamin A deprivation. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1979;87:837–844. doi: 10.1177/019459987908700618. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Choi J.Y., Cho K.N., Yoo K.H., Shin J.H., Yoon J.H. Retinoic acid depletion induces keratinizing squamous differentiation in human middle ear epithelial cell culture. Acta Otolaryngol. 2003;123:466–470. doi: 10.1080/0036554021000028097. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Choi J.Y., Cho K.N., Yoon J.H. All-trans retinoic acid induces mucociliary diffrentiation in a human cholesteatoma epithelial cell culture. Acta Otolaryngol. 2004;124:30–35. doi: 10.1080/00016480310002104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Chytil F. The lungs and vitamin A. Am J Physiol. 1992;262:L517–L527. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.1992.262.5.L517. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Chytil F., Riaz-ul-Haq Vitamin A mediated gene expression. Critical reviews in eukaryotic gene expression. 1990;1:61–73. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Wolf G (1990) Recent progress in vitamin A research: nuclear retinoic acid receptors and their interaction with gene elements. J Nutr Biochem 1284–289 [DOI] [PubMed]
- 10.Petkovich M. Regulation of gene expression by vitamin A: the role of nuclear retinmoic acid receptors. Ann Rev Nutr. 1992;12:443–471. doi: 10.1146/annurev.nu.12.070192.002303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
