What is beriberi and its symptoms?
Symptoms of dry beriberi include: Difficulty walking. Loss of feeling (sensation) in hands and feet. Loss of muscle function or paralysis of the lower legs. Mental confusion/speech difficulties.
What do you mean by beri beri?
Beriberi is a deficiency of thiamin, more commonly known as vitamin B1. Your body needs thiamin to break down and digest the foods you eat, to keep your metabolism going, and help your muscles and nervous system do their jobs effectively. Beriberi can affect the cardiovascular system or central nervous system.
Who discovered beri beri?
Christiaan Eijkman, a Dutch physician and pathologist, discovered that feeding unpolished rice to chickens helped prevent beriberi.
What causes dry beriberi?
Thiamine deficiency with nervous system involvement is termed dry beriberi. This presentation usually occurs when poor caloric intake and relative physical inactivity are present.
Where is beriberi most common?
Beriberi is a disease caused by a vitamin B1 deficiency, also known as thiamine deficiency. It often occurs in developing countries among people with a diet that consists mostly of white rice or highly refined carbohydrates. There are two types of the disease: wet beriberi.
Why is it called beriberi?
(The term beriberi is derived from the Sinhalese word meaning “extreme weakness.”) In the form known as dry beriberi, there is a gradual degeneration of the long nerves, first of the legs and then of the arms, with associated atrophy of muscle and loss of reflexes.
What is beri beri class 6th?
Definition of beriberi : a deficiency disease marked by inflammatory or degenerative changes of the nerves, digestive system, and heart and caused by a lack of or inability to assimilate thiamine.