X. EFFECTS OF DEFICIENCY 381 



(lerniatitis of the extremities and a swelling of the ears, the lesions of 

 ariboflavinosis are less specific and slower to develop. An eczematous con- 

 tlition of the skin especially afTects the nostrils and eyes. The eyelids be- 

 come (lennded of hair and may be stuck together with a serous exudate. 



Conjunctivitis, blci)haritis, corneal opacities, and vascularization of the 

 cornea are common manifestations of rat ariboflavinosis. ^--^^ The cjues- 

 tion of specificity of cataract formation, first reported in 1931 by Day et al.^'^ 

 in rats deficient in what was then known as vitamin G, has not yet been 

 resolved. There is an apparent inverse relationship between cataract for- 

 mation"-^-' and the amount of riboflavin in the diet. There also seems to be 

 a relationship between corneal opacities and amino acid deficiencies.'"'"'*- In 

 a study of the growth of the eye during riboflavin and tryptophan defi- 

 ciencies, Pirie^^ noted that the eye continued to grow at a normal rate, so 

 that the deficient animals had relatively large eyes in undersized bodies. 



Before the pathology of choline deficiency was recognized, there were 

 frequent reports of hepatic injury as a consequence of riboflavin defici- 

 ency .'*•'• ^^ It is now assumed that the fatty livers associated with deficien- 

 cies of B complex vitamins are not directly related to riboflavin deple- 

 tion.-^- *^ 



A variety of neuropathological changes have been reported, and it is 

 likely that the proportions of fat, carbohydrate, and protein in the diet, 

 as well as the severity of the riboflavin depletion, may play an important 

 part in determining the exact nature of the pathology. Partial paralysis of 

 the legs of the rat are produced more easily on a high fat ration.'*'' • ""^ In its 

 severe form this paralysis is characterized by degeneration of the myelin 



32 H. Chick, T. F. Macrae, and A. N. Worden, Biochem. J. 34, 580 (1940). 



'3 L. R. Richardson and A. G. Hogan, Missouri Agr. Expt. Sla. Research Bull. 241 



(1936) . 

 ^' B. Sure, /. Nutrition 22, 295 (1941). 



" H. R. Street, G. R. Cowgill, and H. M. Zimmerman, J. Nutrition 22, 7 (1941). 

 3« P. L. Day, W. C. Langston, and C. S. O'Brien, Am. J. Ophthalmol. 14, 1005 (1931). 

 " P. L. Day, W. J. Darby, and W. C. Langston, J. Nutrition 13, 389 (1937). 

 38 O. A. Bessey and S. B. Wolbach, /. Exptl. Med. 69, 1 (1939). 

 "M. M. El-Dadr, Chemistry & Industry 58, 1020 (1939). 

 ^» P. B. Curtis, S. M. Ilauge, and H. R. Kraybill, ./. Nutrition 5, 503 (1932). 

 " H. S. -Mitchell and G. M. Cook, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 36, 806 (1937). 

 « W. K. Hall, L. L. Bowles, V. P. Sydenstricker, and II. L. Schmidt, Jr., ./. A'?//r/- 



tion 36, 277 (1948). 

 " A. Pirie, Brit. J. Nutrition 2, 14 (1948). 

 " P. Gyorgy and H. Goldblatt, /. Exptl. Med. 70, 185 (1939). 

 '^ G. Gavin and E. W. McHenry, J. Biol. Chem. 132, 41 (1940). 

 ^« P. Gyorgy and II. Goldblatt, ./. Exptl. Med. 72, 1 (1940). 

 "J. II. Sliaw and P. H. Phillips, ./. Nutrition 22, 345 (1941). 

 '■ K. W. Ki.grl and P. II. IMiillips, Brov. tioc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 40, 597 (1939). 



