Biology
Create a narrative describing a frictional patient who is experiencing either a vitamin deficiency or a vitamin toxicity.
Example :Mary and the red tounge
While working in an extremely improvished area of the world where the primary (and some days, the only substantial) food is corn, you are approached by Mary, a young woman who has the largest, reddest you’ve seen. You agree to examine her because she complains of other symptoms. During the examination, you notice a rash that is particularly prominent on the areas of her body most often exposed to sun, her neckline and hands. The woman also complains of feeling depressed and apathetic, suffering from memory loss, and having frequent diarrhea.
Answer : I suspect that Mary has a vitamin B3 (Niacin) deficiency and is suffering from pellagra. The key symptoms that lead me to this conclusion are her red tongue, rash in sun- exposed areas, her diarrhea and confusion. I can differentiate the niacin deficiency from riboflavin deficiency ( which also has a red tongue) because of the rash, diarrhea, and the clue that Mary eat a lot of corn. Corn contains niacin that is tightly bound to other proteins ; however, the niacin can be released if the corn is exposed to alkaline conditions before consumption. Niacin plays a critical role in cellular metabolism. For example, it is a part of the co-enzymes Nad and NADP which function during cellular respiration. Many energy metabolism pathways require niacin.
