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Abstract
The effects of vitamin E or vitamin A deficiency on the retina were assessed in monkeys for as long as two and three-quarters years. A macular degeneration developed after two years in monkeys fed vitamin E-deficient diets. The lesion was characterized by focal, massive disruption of photoreceptor outer segments attributed to lipid peroxidation of these lipoprotein structures containing highly unsaturated fatty acids. The focal nature of the lesion precluded any evidence of clinical blindness. Vitamin A deficiency was typical of that described by others, and was accompanied by xerophthalmia, keratomalacia, and clinically impaired vision. Anatomic evidence suggested that the structural disruption of photoreceptors was more advanced in cones and was most pronounced in the macula with a lesser involvement of the peripheral retina.