726 XI. VITAMIN'S E (tocopherols) 



patches of sul^eutaneous edema on the breast and abdomen of the young 

 chicks. ^'-'"^'^ It sometimes occurs on the neck, legs, or wings as well. 

 There is a local accumulation of a plasma-like fluid which is tinged green 

 by decomposed hemoglobin. The affected tissues present increased 

 capillary permeability. Dam^^^ observed that the subcutaneous tissue 

 at the site of the lesions remained buff-colored for a long period after this 

 condition had been cured. A more severe type of exudative diathesis 

 which involves the brain and lungs as well as the heart and pericardium 

 and other organs was described by Bird and Culton.^'^ This severe form 

 of the condition usuallj^ results in death. According to Dam,^^'* exudative 

 diathesis rarely occurs in chicks on purified vitamin E-free diets in the 

 absence of dietary fats. 



(b) Nutritional Encephalomalacia. This deficiency is characterized by 

 a disorder of the nervous system. It has been described by Pappenheimer 

 and co-workers, '•^^•"^"•^'^•^" and also by Adamstone.'^^-^^^ The symptoms 

 involved include motor incoordination, ataxia, head retraction and opis- 

 thotonos, tremors, prostration, with legs spastic and claws strongly flexed, 

 somnolence, stupor, and death. Postmortem examination reveals blister- 

 like swellings on the nerve-endings, flattening and irregular distortion of 

 the cerebral convolutions; there is frequently a greenish-brown discolora- 

 tion in the cerebellum, associated with hemorrhage and edema. In some 

 cases, the discoloration also occurs in the cerebrum, midbrain, and even in 

 the medulla. Not only can this condition be produced experimentally on 

 vitamin E-low diets, but it frequently occurs spontaneously in commercial 

 flocks; under such conditions, it has been referred to as the "crazy chick 

 disease. "-^-•^''- Jungherr^"' demonstrated that this disease is associated 

 with extensive fibrosis of the cerebellum. Large areas of increased vas- 

 cularity are often present in other parts of the central nervous system, 

 specifically the medulla, the midbrain, and the thalamus. ^"^ 



Dam^'^ stated that unsaturated fats in the diet increased the severity of 

 both the exudative diathesis and encephalomalacia. It is possible, by 

 varying the fats, to produce either condition, or both simultaneously. 

 Considerable protection from the deficiency symptoms in chickens can be 



312 H. Dam and H. Glavind, Nature, 143, 810-811 (1939). 



3i» H. Dam and H. Glavind, Skand. Arch. Physiol., 82, 299-316 (1939). 



3'^ H. Dam, J. Nutrition, 27, 193-211 (1944). 



"6 H. R. Bird and T. G. Culton, Proc. Sac. Exptl. Biol. Med., 44, 543-547 (1940). 



•^19 A. M. Pappenheimer and M. Goettsch, J. Exptl. Med., 63, 11-26 (1931). 



317 A. Wolf and A. AI. Pappenheimer, J. Exptl. Med., 54, 399-405 (1931). 



318 F. B. Adamstone, Arch. Pathol, 31, 603-612 (1941). 



319 F. B. Adamstone, Arch. Pathol, 43, .301-312 (1947). 



