Evening star., 1941-12-09
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas z. Henri.

| Vltamln complex In the diet, has just
been reported to the American Medical
! Association.
1t is predominantly an ailment OF
! women white-collar workers in the
Northern cities, especially New York.
The symptoms, say Drs. Michael j.
Lepore and Ross Golden of the Columbia
University Medical School, are quite dis
tinct from the recognized vitamin B
maladies and their subclinical states.
These are pellagra. due to lack of nico-
tinic acid, beriberi caused by inadequacy
Of thiamin chloride, and ariboflavinosis,
recently discovered condition caused by
| too little ribof1avin. All these vitamins
now are being put in bread
In few Of their cases, the physicians
report was there the excuse of poverty
for poor diet. In some instances it was
| due to attempts to lose weight, in others
| to dislike for various essential foods,
and in many others to "laziness" among
| white-collar workers who disliked cook
! ing and tried to manage with sand
wiches, fewer meals and foods requiring
less preparation.
The net result, they say, was that
their patients were living on diets rich
in sugars and starches and very low in
fats and proteinS. 1t is recognized that
a high starch and sugar diet increases
the demand of the body for the B
vitamins.,
The most prominent symptom, they
found. was general weakness. The pa
tients came to them complaining Of lack
Of pep. They had poor appetites and this
helped perpetuate the vicious circle.
Personality changes often were marked.
One woman declared that if the pre-
scribed diets did not help her she would
almost certainly have to break up her
home because "she was so cranky she
was not fit to live with" Weakness and
faintness came on from two to four
hours after meals.
Some of the most frequent complaints
were of gas pains" These often caused
patients to stop after eating only small
part OF meal There is often a story
Of sore tongue and burning of the
mouth. Definite changes have been
intestines, which may be responsible for
the discomfort. Drs. Lepore and Golden
believe they may be brought about by
changes in the autonomic nervous sys-
tenn due 10 lack of the vitamins
Probably the most striking feature of
the new malady, from the medical stand
point, is the failure of the system to
10
like furnaces with clinker-clogged CRATES
When sugar is given them after period
OF fasting there is very little increase in
the amount of sugar in the blood. This
probably is responsible, the physicians
believe, for general weakness.
There are, they believe. two reasons
for the condition. The bodies of the
patients have built up mechanisms to
save themselves from the effects of too
much sugar and have carried the proc
esses too far One is an acceleration of
the blood sugar removal mechanism. The
other is a slowing down of the absorption
of sugar from the gaStro-intestinal tract.
The malady probably has escaped de-
lection in the past, Drs. Lepore and
Golden believe, because the symptoms
are so confusing and the patient sell
dom is bed-ridden.
Many of them are working" they re-
port to the American Medical Associa
ton, land have been classed as neurotics
and cranks by their associates. A num-
ber are nurses and physicians who have
eliminated the possibility of organic dis
orders to their own satisfaction and are
ashamed to report their symptoms for
fear they will be called neurotic.
They manage to struggle along. feel
ing under par. like an eight-cylinder mo-
tor hitting on four. They are often the
bane of the existence of the physician
who sees them, for the usual examination
reveals nothing to account for their
symptoms. Useless operations, including
appendectomy, have been done on several
members of the group.
With the administration of Vitamin
B complex, they report, "the improve
ment was at times almost unbelievable.
Appetite improved. tiredness disappeared,
mental attitudes changed, weight in
creased, diarrhea disappeared, and va
rious abdominal aches improved. Usually
the improvement became evident by the
first week or two"
Heavy life, hitherto considered fan
tastic dream of some far-off future, has
been realized to limited degree at the
University of Minnesota.
1t was reported to the National Acad-
emy of Science by Drs. Richard Belken-
gran, Alfred o. Nier and George o. Burr.
A part of every living thing on earth.
basic constituent of protoplasm, the
stuff of life" is the element carbon. This
exists in two forms, the common carbon
II which constitutes the greater part OF
coal. sugar, diamonds, etc, and the
slightly heavier isotope. carbon IL, which
is 1OO-fold less abundant. The Minnesota
scientists have been able to concentrate
the heavy carbon in the growing foot
tips of beans and radishes. Thus they
have produced what is essentially heavy
protoplasm in these humble organisms.
The basis of all life on earth Is the
process of photosynthesis. Green plants
absorb water from the soil and the gas,
carbon dioxide, from the air. Chlorophyl,
the green coloring matter in leaves, traps
sunshine, by means of whose energy the
carbon is split off from the carbon diox-
ide and the hydrogen from the water.
These are combined to form sugars,
starches and other substances which con-
stitute the bulk of the body of the plant.
are essential foodstuffs for animals. and
sx.L all I1A