Dietary Neuropathies

Abstract

The various clinical syndromes can be divided into two main groups. In group I, the lesion is predominantly in the peripheral nerve. This group comprises (1) beriberi neuropathy, including alcoholic polyneuritis and polyneuritis gravidarum and (2) the painful feet syndrome. In group II, the lesion is predominantly in the central nervous tissue. This group includes (a) Wernicke's encephalopathy, (b) niacin (nicotinic acid) deficiency encephalopathy, if such a condition exists, (c) retrobulbar neuropathy, (d) the cord syndromes—namely, spinal ataxia and spastic paraplegia, or a combination of both. There is a third group of diseases of the nervous system in which the deficiency of specific food factors may play a part as precipitating or aggravating elements, but they cannot properly be classified as deficiency neuropathies. Examples in this category are the relationship of vitamin E to progressive muscular atrophy, and the relation of the B complex vitamins to Korsakov's psychosis and depressive states. There is good evidence that Wernicke's encephalopathy results from acute thiamine deficiency. It can be said that under conditions of dietary deficiency, particularly in the tropics, signs of spinal cord damage may develop.