Beriberi

From ArticleWorld

Thiamine, or the vitamin B1, is found in a wide range of fresh foods and cereals, particularly in green vegetables, fruit, milk, legumes and fresh meat. A diet deficient in these foods may lead to beriberi, a condition which can affect the heart and nervous system.

There are two types of beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the heart leading to an increase in heart rate, lung congestion and an enlarged heart characteristic of congestive heart failure, which means the heart loses the ability to pump properly. Dry beriberi is a nervous system disease the symptoms of which include pain, loss of sensation in the hands and feet and partial paralysis.

Both types are fatal if not treated.

Modern manifestations

Nowadays the disease is not often seen in developed countries due to the fact that fresh food is abundant and other products such as cereals are enriched with vitamins including thiamine. The condition is seen in heavy drinkers, however, as alcohol abuse leads to a depletion of the thiamine stores in the body. If serious enough, it causes Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome which is brain damage due to alcohol abuse.

It may also occur in babies breastfed by mothers who do not have enough thiamine in their diet. In a further manifestation, genetic beriberi is an inherited condition where people gradually lose the ability to absorb thiamine, usually becoming obvious in adulthood.

In developing countries, it can be seen in those peoples who consume mainly white rice.

Treatment

Treatment of this disease is easy involving the administering of thiamine by injection or in tablet form. Following treatment, an improvement can be detected quickly, within the hour in some cases.