The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-10-30
MASKED AND UNRECOG. NIZED POLYNEURITIS

NIZED POLH LHNEUhI11S
 Tropical polyneuritis is known as beriberi. It occurs as dry beri- beri in some instances, as wet or dropsical beriberi in others. and as indefinite, mild rudimentary cases of ambulatory weakness. Common symptoms in all cases are pain Tn legs, perhaps swelling of the legs, weakness, sometimes affecting the, arms and trunk as well, paIpita- tion, difficulty of breathing, some times cyanosos of lips and fingers. The patient is likely xo regard the trouble rather as a painful paral- ysis.
 In this country definite beriberi is never seen. But it begins to be apparent that not a few instances of vague multiple neuritis or Of simple neuritis are in fact masked or unrecognized beriberi, and such sporadic outbreaks of the dis ease are to be prevented and cured in the same way we combat genu- inc tropical beriberi today-namely by seeing to it that the individual gets sufficient vitamin B.
 No one realizes more than do how absurd it is for one to as- sume that because vitamin B pre- vents and cures multiple neuritis in the orient this vitamin will pre- vent and cure neuritis indiscrimin- ately in America. Of coure we know that in most cases of actual neuritis the cause is injury or in lection of the nerve involved or of it's roots. Bnt we know further that certain poisons nay produce simple neuritis or inflammation or many nerves (multiple or polyneu-
 ritis), notably alcohol, arsenic ana lead. /, reasonable to publish this hint to victims of any mild chronic neuri- tis the nature and cause Of which remains obscure when the case has
 been studied by the physician. It can at least do no harm in such a case to have go at a peck or
 wheat, say, or some other good car rier of vitamin B even snifter of yeast daily. or some bacon and liver, or bacon and eggs. Isaid a peck of wheat, and that means wheat as it comes from the threshing machine, not any renned or purified or manufactured wheat product.
 Physicians prescribing combin-
 ation of all the essential yitamins | in the treatment of certain nutri- tional disorders, especially over weight and underweight have ob- served that some of these patients have experienced relief from a vague chronic neuritis that has re- sisted ordinary therapeutic meas ures. It is not unreasonable to as- cribe this happy by-effect to the vitamin B, although improved nu- | triton due to one or more other vitamins may contribute to the result.
 This time I'm not going to leave the reader dangling. I'll just men. ton some of the good sources of yitamin B as gather up my souvenirs, stow them in my satchel, fold my stand and douse my light Asparagus, avocado, wnea.
 wheat embryo. whole wheat bread yeast, liver, kidney, bacon, DeeI | beans, peas, cabbage, caulirlower | celeHy leaves or stems, milk con
 densed milk, evaporated milk, skim milk, pasteurized milk, mutton l oatmeal, orange or orange juice :, tomato raw or canned, turnip and turnip greens, green peppers, pine apple fresh or canned, radishes parsnips, white potatoes, prunes l oysters, parsley, peaches. peanuts peanut butter, brown rice, fish roe sweet potatoes, watercress, wheat 1 hran