Alternative Names & Classifications:
Acrodermatitis Enteropathica (CLINICAL)
Description
Unlike acquired zinc deficiency, this is a life-threatening autosomal recessive disorder that physically prevents the enterocytes of the intestines from absorbing dietary zinc, typically presenting violently shortly after an infant is weaned from zinc-rich breast milk. The profound lack of this essential catalytic mineral completely halts rapid cellular proliferation across the entire body. It rapidly leads to severe blistering skin lesions around the body's orifices, chronic diarrhea, and widespread systemic breakdown if massive zinc supplementation is not immediately initiated.