Effect of Vitamin A on Epithelial Cells of Skin

Abstract

The present evaluation of the role of vitamin A in the treatment of skin diseases characterized by abnormal keratinization and the problem of its toxicity are the first phase of a study in depth of the modulating effect of vitamin A on epithelial cells of the skin in vivo and vitro. In this study, the clinical and histopathological effects of vitamin A on keratosis follicularis, ichthyosis, congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma, psoriasis, and pityriasis rubra pilaris were determined. Christian Eijkman's discovery in 1897 of a factor in rice polishings which was essential for growth and development opened a new era in the understanding of the role of vitamins in the treatment and prevention of disease. Search for additional factors led to the discovery of vitamin A in 1913, but its chemical configuration was not known until 1931.¹The fact that vitamin A is an old story does not dim, but rather