Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B 1). [1] A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. [1] [7] The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase බැරි බැරි (bæri bæri, “I cannot, I cannot”), owing to the weakness caused by the condition.
Wernicke encephalopathy (WE), also Wernicke's encephalopathy, [1] or wet brain is the presence of neurological symptoms caused by biochemical lesions of the central nervous system after exhaustion of B-vitamin reserves, in particular thiamine (vitamin B 1). [2]
In 1897, Vorderman visited all of the around 100 prisons on the island of Java. He took samples of the prison rice and examined the prison records to determine the number of beriberi cases. He kept the real purpose of his visits secret so that word did not get around the Chinese rice suppliers and lead them to change the type of rice they provided.
Severe deficiency causes beriberi, which became prevalent in Asia as more people adopted a diet primarily of white rice. Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are forms of beriberi. Alcoholism can also cause vitamin deficiencies. Long-term deficiencies can be life-threatening. [20] Riboflavin (Vitamin B 2) deficiency
Here are links to possibly useful sources of information about Beriberi. PubMed provides review articles from the past five years (limit to free review articles ) The TRIP database provides clinical publications about evidence-based medicine .
Casimir Funk, who helped elucidate the role of thiamin in the etiology of beriberi, was an early investigator of the problem of pellagra. Funk suggested that a change in the method of milling corn was responsible for the outbreak of pellagra, [ 56 ] but no attention was paid to his article on this subject.
At the time, beriberi (considered endemic to Japan) was a serious problem on warships and was affecting naval efficiency. Takaki knew that beriberi was not common among Western navies. He also noticed that Japanese naval officers, whose diet consisted of various types of vegetables and meat, rarely suffered from beriberi.
In 1946, beriberi was the second leading cause of death in the Philippines, following tuberculosis. [ 7 ] In 1948, the survey, led by Dr. Juan Salcedo, Jr. and a team including Dr. M. D. Bamba and three other medical officers, aimed to assess beriberi in the Philippines.