The Treatment and Prevention of Pellagra

Pellagra: a review with emphasis on photosensitivity

“…However, pellagra remained endemic among the maize‐eating poor population of southern Europe for nearly two centuries. It was not until early in the 20th century that an American public health doctor, Joseph Goldberger, dedicated his life’s work to demonstrating that pellagra was not an infectious disease, as was widely believed at the time, but was caused by a deficient diet 18,19 . Goldberger carried out a variety of experiments including the induction of pellagra in six of 11 prison inmates by changes in their diet 14,20,21 .…”

“…It was not until early in the 20th century that an American public health doctor, Joseph Goldberger, dedicated his life's work to demonstrating that pellagra was not an infectious disease, as was widely believed at the time, but was caused by a deficient diet. 18,19 Goldberger carried out a variety of experiments including the induction of pellagra in six of 11 prison inmates by changes in their diet. 14,20,21 Goldberger was correct in establishing that pellagra was caused by a nutritional deficiency factor, but did not discover that it was due to deficient vitamin B 3 .…”

Poverty Results In Madness: A Testimony from the Past

“…At last, Goldberger [22], an epidemiologist of the United States Public Health Service, understood and demonstrated the correlation between the disease and the lack of some food elements, stating that it was prevented with a well-balanced and varied diet. However, this was afterwards; in the twentieth century the deficiency factor was identified in niacin or PPPellagra Prevention-vitamin [23,24].…”

TheBritish Journal of Dermatology: the interwar years

“…Undoubtedly the most significant advance was the discovery that pellagra, a disease characterized by severe photosensitivity and sometimes death, responded to diet. Joseph Goldberger (1874–1929), an American public‐health physician, speculated that pellagra was due to poor diet . In the absence of an animal model for pellagra he went on to demonstrate that pellagra could be induced by strict dietary restriction in humans (this was many years before research ethics principles had become established), and that pellagra responded rapidly to treatment with a well‐balanced diet including fresh milk and meat .…”