The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-10-13
PELLAGRA WITHOUT
FELLAGRA

ANA4AA4AN4A148
One reason why pellagra 3 fro.
qiently unrecognized In ali partS Of
the United States and Canada and
among people Of means e. well as
among poorer people q that "a
many cases the characteristic aim
LESSONS from which the disease takea
It's name (pellagra Is derived from
Italian words meaning rough skin)
never appear. Another reason why
the disease ID not properly alag.
noSed IN many cases Is that the
medical profession Is too gullible.
TOO many doctors accepted as Com
mon sense" or scientific fact" thu
half-baked utterance or dictun--
probably straight from the best "a.
vertised clinic-that any one will get
all the vitamins he needs from
wen varied or well balanced diet,
and that a physician with Q large
practice among the better class Of
people will see only q few cases In
Q year in which he may suspect nu.
tritional deflciency--this SNUG view
was expressed In print by the
mouthpiece Of the best advertised
clinic.
The patient may present Q train
Of symptoms characteristic Of neu-
rasthenia, anxiety state or other
neurosis, says Drs. Spies and Butt,
In their Illuminating chapter on
Vitamins and Avitaninoses Ia
Duncan's Diseases Of MetabOlism
Saunders, 49,, and DR.. McLester,
In his Nutrition and Diet In Health
and Disease (Saunders, 800 says
that sometimes there Is little more
than anorexia (poor appetite), loss
Of weight and q change In person.
atty, and adds that this was olms
phasized by ]. B. Mcrester, who
made the significant observation
that an appreciable number Of the
pellagrins in the Hillman hospital.
Birmingham, gave o history Of
having been admitted in previous
years with the diagnosis Of neu.
rasthenia. Moral (by Brady: When
q doctor opines you have "neu-
rasthenia" you may be reasonably
sure there's something the matter,
but, gosh, how long would you mess
around with the doctor II he admit
ted he couldn't tell what in tarna-
ton allied you? This L. not to imply
that II were the doctor could
tell any better than the next doctor
what In tarnation allied you at that
stage Of the disease, but Just that
you are only kidding yourself II you
play along with the notion that It's
your nerves Nor does 1t mean that
any one who irnagines or has been
told by o doctor that he or she has
''neurasthenta really has pellagra
sine pel!agra (pellagra In q COM
paratively mild form, without the
characteristic skin manifestation
Of the fullfiedged disease). Onhand
can think Of OF least half dozen
other things that may masquerade
for 0 while as "neurastheniA," II
the patient Is not curious TO know
what really is the matter. but I
shall not mention any Of them. This
is a talk about unrecogniZed pei
lagra.
The child with mild pellagra Is
anemic, poorly developed, sluggish
In reactions, retarded in school.
The child generally prefers refined
carbohydrate foods. so-called
breakfast foods" and the like
sweetened, toasted, predigested. sis
sified, inadequate for good nutri.
ton. The child Is irritable, Nstless,
apathetic, tired, too tired TO play
normally with healthy children,
too tired to rest, fretful, sleeping
poorly, waking UP crying. complain
ing OF vague pain in the abdomen
or OF soreness Of tongue or lips, and
Of cramps or burning sensation IN
legs. The child may have "tndiges-
ton" and sometimes vomiting, or
alternating periods Of constipation
and diarrhea. Mothers usually feed
the child iron or some kind OF
"tonic," in the belief that the child
doesn't digest his food well or
doesn't get the strength from his
food. II the child doesn't get the
strength from his food 1t Is because
Il isn't there-the vitamin B COM
pick, and especially the NICOTINE
acid component Of the B complex
has been carefully removed from
the food In the process Of refine
ment.
Pellagra. develops when the indi-
vidual gets insufficient vitamin 3
complex, particularly NICOTINE acid
(lately renamed niacin).
One way to provide an adequate
supply Of niacin and the other B
complex vitamins Is quite simple
substitute plain wheat, entire
cracked or ground to meal or hour
for refined white -four In the
daily diet. But this Is merely by
way of prevention.
For the infant or young child, or
for that matter the adult, with
manifestations Of pellagra, a very
good remedy is a daily ration OF
from one-half to three or four tea
spoonfuls of a palatable syrup con-
tanning 500 units Of B1, 10 milli-
grams Of niacin, etc., to the tea
spoonful. This B complex syrup
contains also some iron gluconate
and manganese.
In an early talk wen c02sinue
this discussion Of pellagra.