Untreated acrodermatitis enteropathica in adults

In the literature six cases of acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE1 are described in which the patients survived to adult age. In a few of these cases the symptoms diappeared at the onset of puberty, while in the rest the disease had a fluctuating course with long symptom-free intervals and an uncharacteristic symptomatology. Two cases are reported. In case 1 there remained only characteristic skin changes on the feet at adult age, in case 2 both skin and intestinal symptoms diappeared at adult age. For long periods this patient was invalidated through depressions, a symptom which is characteristic of children suffering from an active AE. The same patient developed parkinsonism at a relatively young age. In both cases a very low serum zinc level essentially supported the diagnosis. It is possible that AE in adults is underdiagnosed because of an uncharacteristic symptomatology.