Evidence of osteolathyrism among patients suffering from neurolathyrism in Bangladesh.

Abstract

In a study of 500 patients suffering from neurolathyrism in Bangladesh it was found that 60 (all male) complained of bone pain and showed skeletal deformities suggestive of osteolathyrism. On X-ray examination a failure of fusion in both vertebral and iliac epiphyses was found in two patients. At the age of these patients (30 and 37 years) such failure was considered a clear evidence of osteolathyrism. All 60 patients were accustomed to eating the green parts of Lathyrus sativus, which contain 2-cyanoethyl-isoxazolin-5-one, a compound that chemically and metabolically can produce the osteolathyrogen beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), as well as foods made from the seeds of the same plant which contain the neurotoxin 3-N-oxalyl-2,3-diaminopropanoic acid (beta-ODAP).