PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS DUE TO LACK OF VITAMINES 385 



some communications on tuberculosis, particular attention was called 

 to the significance of the vitamines. Re"non (1529) said that on 

 vitamine-poor diets, a decreased immunity towards tuberculosis is 

 evident, and Muthu (1530) likewise believed in the important role 

 of the vitamines in the development of this disease. 



LEPROSY 



Button (1531) recently stated that in the development of leprosy 

 the diet, especially the vitamines, plays an important role. Sir 

 Jonathan Hutchinson (1532) believed that leprosy was associated in 

 some way with fish consumption. On perusing the literature, we 

 see in an article by Deycke (1533), that there is no basis for this 

 .assumption except, perhaps, the statement that in the treatment, a 

 satisfactory diet is of significance. Among other known facts, we 

 see in a paper by Underbill, Honeij,, Bogert and Aldrich (1534) that 

 in leprosy, certain chemical changes in the bones are apparent, 

 indicating, perhaps, a disturbance in the calcium and magnesium 

 metabolism. The atrophy of the bones in leprosy is associated 

 with the large requirements of these patients for calcium. If calcium 

 is added, marked retention results. We may, perhaps, associate this 

 with the action of vitamine A. Vokurka (1534a) observed an 

 increase in the number of lepers in Bosnia and Herzogowina after 

 the war, and attributed it to malnutrition. It is obvious that 

 leprosy occurs largely among the poorer people, but any possible 

 relationship with the vitamines has not been demonstrated. Never- 

 theless, it would be worth while to go further into the question 

 of diet. 



PNEUMONIA 



The many investigators in the field of experimental vitamine 

 research have quite regularly reported the frequent occurrence of 

 infections of the respiratory apparatus on diets poor in vitamines. 

 Similar observations have been made in man by Fleming, Macaulay 

 and Clark (I.e. 910) in South Rhodesia. Great epidemics were noted 

 there on a diet, previously described, which apparently leads to a 

 mixed avitaminosis. Vaccine therapy was used without success, and 

 there were 686 deaths out of 2251 cases in 1908, with considerable 

 meningitis and tuberculosis. At the same time, the avitaminosis was 

 evident in 100 out of 700 laborers. Here, when a change was made 

 in the diet, splendid results were obtained. Not only did the avitam- 

 inosis disappear but the pneumonia decreased also. 



