DKFICIKXCV IJISKASES 283 



for cell growth is undeterminctl." Voddor''- has suggested that Ihe 

 aiiti-ncuritic vitaniinc is essential for growth and repair of the nervous 

 tissue, and in its absence normal wear cannot be made good.'*' There 

 is evidence that substances rich in the anti-neuritic vitamine stimulate 

 growth in infants. ""^ Moore"*^ suggests that deficiency diseases may- 

 be the result of lack of something needed to neutralize toxic sub- 

 stances produced in metabolism or derived from outside sources, just 

 as in poisoning with tri-nitro toluene and similar compounds there is 

 no intoxication so long as the body can furnish sufficient glycuronic 

 acid to neutralize the poisons. Dutcher"" finds some relation between 

 catalase and vitamine content in experimental polyneuritis, and sug- 

 gests that the vitamines stimulate oxidative processes which remove 

 toxic substances. It is probable that more than one vitamine is neces- 

 sary for maintaining normal conditions, and deficiency of one causes 

 beriberi, of another scurvy, for some dietaries lead to one disease and 

 some to the other. Quite possibly minor, or less well-defined im- 

 pairment in health may often result? from quantitative deficiency in 

 vitamine supplies. The main points concerning the most studied 

 deficiency diseases may be summarized as follows : 



Beriberi^^ occurs in two forms — the dry polyneuritic type and the 

 edematous or wet beriberi, and mixed forms. The dry type resembles 

 the experimental polyneuritis of birds, mentioned previously, for in the 

 birds edema does not accompany the polyneuritis that can be produced 

 experimentally by feeding polished rice. There now seems to be no 

 doubt that human beriberi is the result of the absence of certain es- 

 sential elements in the diet, observed especially when the diet is 

 polished rice, but possibly occurring with other deficient diets, for the 

 necessary vitamine is of course present in many other foods than rice. 

 Not only has a condition closely resembling human beriberi been pro- 

 duced in animals, but also true beriberi has been experimentallj' 

 produced in man by feeding on polished rice, as well as the repeated 

 demonstration of both prevention and cure of the human disease by 

 proper feeding or by administration of rice polishings or extracts 



" See Voegtlin and Myers, Amer. Jour. Physiol., 1919 (48), 504. 



" Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 1916 (67 j, 1494. 



''^ McCarrison has observed hypertrophy of the adrenals in pigeons with experi- 

 mental beriberi, although the other organs are atrophied. He considers a general 

 nuclear starvation from lack of necessary nuclear nutritive materials to be the 

 essential condition. (India Jour. Med. Res., 1919 (6), 275.) He found the- sex 

 glands particularly atrophied, and Houlbert (Paris Medicate, 1919 (9;, 473, has 

 found water-soluble vitamines essential for growth of sex glands. Emmett and 

 Allen (Jour. Biol. Chem., Soc. Proc, 1920 (41), liii), obtained adrenal hypertrophy 

 with thymus atrophy in rats fed diets deficient in water-soluble B, but not with 

 diets deficient in A. Growth of tadpoles also seemed to be more accelerated by 

 B than bv A. 



^* Daniels et al, .Amer. Jour. Dis. Chil., 1919 (18), 546. 



^^ British Publ. on Munitions, No. 11. 



«» Jour. Biol. Chem., 1918 (36), 6.34. 



*^ Full discussion and bibliography given by Vedder in his book "Beriberi," 

 New York, 1913. See also Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 1916 (67), 1494. 



