Experimental Study of Clinical Vitamin B Deficiency 1

Macrocytic Anemia in Pregnant Women With Vitamin B Deficiency 1

“…In the late months of pregnancy a 7 per cent increase in mean corpuscular volume occurred and occasional macrocytes appeared in the blood smear ( Figure 7 the return toward normal was greatest in those subjects who received the longest course of therapy. The clinical disturbances in the subjects of Group I formed a characteristic syndrome involving chiefly the gastro-intestinal tract and the nervous system and were similar to those observed in a previous study of clinical vitamin B deficiency (9). The individual variation in intensity of these manifestations was interesting and suggests either that minor changes in the diet or environment or individual differences in susceptibility may alter considerably the manifestations of a given deficiency.…”

“…Seven clinical phenomena, manifestations of vitamin B deficiency, recognizable from previous study (9) were watched for in particular. The 463 changes were: alterations of the tongue, gastrointestinal symptoms, paresthesias, impaired vibratory sense, susceptibility to fatigue, edema and tachycardia.…”

“…Every other known essential was therefore added to the diet and such amounts of vitamin B as had been taken in the previous diet continued to be given but no attempt was made to increase this factor, the importance or unimportance of taking which was the object of the study. By careful clinical observation the early signs of vitamin B deficiency previously described in a report from this Clinic (9) were sought and when detected were promptly relieved by the administration of brewer's yeast or liver extract. The present communication is a report of studies made chiefly upon the blood, gastric secretion and clinical manifestations of these women from the 4th month of pregnancy to term.…”

Metabolic Disturbances in Experimental Human Vitamin B Deficiency

“…The subject, a healthy woman aged 60, who had served in a previous study (14) It was assumed that the amounts of other members of the B complex were proportionately decreased in the diet. Vitamins A, C and D, iron, calcium and sodium chloride in amounts thought to be optimal supplemented the diet as indicated in Table I.…”

“…As in earlier studies of vitamin B deficiency (14) no adequate explanation for its occurrence is available. Alterations in serum protein were not sufficient to account for it.…”