Vitamin E deficiency in the monkey. I. Muscular dystrophy, hematologic changes, and the excretion of urinary nitrogenous constituents.

Eight young rhesus monkeys were fed a purified diet devoid of vitamin E. After from 6 to 13 months of feeding, all the animals developed signs of vitamin E deficiency. The signs of vitamin E deficiency in the monkey include muscular dystrophy, elevated excretion of creatine, allantoin, and free amino acids and decreased excretion of creatinine. The vitamin E-deficient monkeys all developed anemia and granulocytosis. Anemia was the first sign of vitamin E deficiency which was observed. All of these signs of vitamin E deficiency were reversed by treatment with alpha-tocopherol.