Adult-onset spinocerebellar syndrome with idiopathic vitamin E deficiency.

A 62-year-old man and his maternal uncle had a selective vitamin E deficiency without generalized fat malabsorption. A progressive neurological disorder comprising ataxia, areflexia, and loss of proprioception developed in their sixth and seventh decades. The vitamin E deficiency is thought to be due to abnormally accelerated utilization, excretion, or degradation of the vitamin. This adult-onset spinocerebellar syndrome is due to vitamin E deficiency not caused by malabsorption.