Evening star., 1940-11-26
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.

By Thomas r. Henry.
A daily ration of 1000 international
units of thiamin a day for American
soldiers has just been recommended by
the Committee on Nutrition Of the Ma
tional Research Council.
| This is four times the amount OF this
chemical, otherwise known as vitamin
| B1, deemed necessary for human be-
ings in general by the health ofice OF
| the League of Nations.
The recommendation was revealed by.
the chairman, DR.. Russell Wilder Of
the Mayo Clinic, before Food and
| Drug Administration hearing the other
day. An international unit is about
| three-millionths of gram. The daily
dose proposed for soldiers is about
seven-t -thousandths of an ounce. 1t would
be added to foods ordinarily in the ra-
ton, chiefly flour.
Unpublished experiments at the Mayo
Clinic, DR.. Wilder said. are throwing
much light on the probable role Of this
vitamin in normal health. 1t is becom-
ing clearer, he told the hearing, that
! the condition caused by deficiency
| of 1t is very similar to, If not identical
with, the nervous condition known as
neurasthenia, sometimes described as
the most widespread human ailment.
It's chief symptoms are weakness, pal
pitation of the heart on slight exertion,
sleeplessness, constant feeling Of anx-
iety, severe constipation and lack OF
appetite.
Hitherto lack of Bl has usually been
described as the cause Of the dreaded,
highly fatal Oriental disease, beriberi,
a true case of which is seldom seen in
the United States. Only within the
past two or three years has there been
a suspicion of a subclinical berlberi
which might be widespread In the Amer
ican populace.
The Mayo Clinic experiments, DR..
Wilder said, now indicate that beriberi
is due to some other factor. as yet un-
known, lack of which comes from the
failing appetite for ordinary foods due
to thiamin deficiency. The require.
ments for the individual are based to
some extent on the body weight and the
amount of food, in calories, ordinarily
consumed.
The unpublished Mayo Clinic ex-
periments, Dr. Wilder said, were with
normally healthy women weighing an
average of ITO pounds each. They were
given $50 international units day, just
about the League of Nations standard
for persons of their weight, although
the standard for adults in general was
$50 international units.
It became evident in a few days that
the ration was woefully inadequate, DR..
Wilder told the Food and Drug Admin
istratioh hearing. The first change noted
was an abnormal electrocardiogram, the
record of the electrical impulses of the
heart. The changes were such as are
often noted by heart specialists and
which medical students are warned not
to get excited about, since they DO not
indicate anything definitely wrong with
| the heart. rrt.t
The second change was an increase IN
blood sugar. Sugar, the fuel OF the
body, is broken down to the point where
| it can join with oxygen and form the
| gas, carbon dioxide, which is eliminated
| in the breath. Two of the chemical
stages in this breakdown are two acids.
Tactic and pyruvie. Without thiamin
the progress seemingly becomes stymied
This also is what happens in diabetes.
! The rise in the content of blood sugar
and of these acids, DR.. Wilder said, is
| very similar to that in diabetes and it
| might be assumed that lack of thiamin
| was cause of this disease. Actually, he
| believes, the two conditions are not re-
lated. The women showed none of the
other symptoms of diabetes. The normal
blood pressure was restored Immediately
by increasing the vitamin allowance.
The capacity to work of these women,
| he said, was determined daily on an
ergometer, work-measuring machine.
| 1t dropped rapidly. In several cases it
| was doubled when the ration was raised
| to $50 international units daily. This is
about equivalent to the 1000 units day
| proposed for soldiers, considering the
| difference in average body weight. At
| no time. he stressed, did the women know
what they were getting, so no psyche
logical factor could be involved.
The committee DR.. Wilder said, is un-
willing to accept standard of less than
500 units day for the population in
general to safeguard against general
neurasthenia, although it is doubtful
whether great numbers of the American
people are getting the hitherto accepted
$50 units. This would be shown, he be-
| lieves, by general blood sugar tests.
The tests have shown that more
than average supply is essential in child
hood, when the body furnace is burning
very rapidly; in pregnancy. and in any
period of nervous and emotional stress.
This latter accounts for the fourfold
allowance urged for soldiers.
1t will be no more after all, DR.. Wilder
said, than their grandfathers got from
whole wheat flour.