Potential blindness from nutritional xerophthalmia in autistic patients
Vitamin A is vital to retinal rod function and epithelial cell differentiation. Although uncommon in the developed world, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) secondary to poor diets or gastrointestinal disease has been reported and can lead to xerophthalmia, which is characterized by night blindness and a spectrum of ocular surface changes. Patients with autism spectrum disorder have been shown to have restrictive diets secondary to sensory issues leading to rejection of foods except for those of certain color or texture.
Source: Journal of AAPOS - Category: Opthalmology Authors: Samantha Marek, Grace Forbes, Robert A. Avery, Tatiana Zanganeh, Stefanie Davidson, Emily DeCarlo, Priyanka Kumar, Kristin Hammersmith Tags: Major Article Source Type: research
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