Vitamin B1 therapy with 'Betaxan' / Bayer Products Limited.

  • Bayer Products Limited.
Date:
[1938]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Vitamin B1 therapy with 'Betaxan' / Bayer Products Limited. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    neuritic conditions and painful muscles.’ The same authority states as his considered opinion that in every case of failure of appetite, the Vitamin B 1 content of the diet should be considered with a view to correcting any inadequacy. He adds that ordinary sources of the Vitamin are too dilute for use in remedying the defect and that a concentrated preparation should be given. Vorhaus, Williams and Waterman (1935) describe the symptoms of moderate deficiency as including ‘ localised persistent pain, usually in an extremity or in the back and anorexia.’ Paresthesia is frequently present. There is little or no weakness. ‘This condition is usually associated with obesity and a disturbed carbohydrate metabolism. It is frequently classified as a * diabetic or metabolic neuritis.’ ‘They also describe a lesser degree of deficiency characterised by ‘vague pains, usually only elicited by pressure over the nerve roots, general malaise, anorexia, and constipation. Small amounts of sugar may be present in the urine without hyperglycemia.’ An inadequate intake of Vitamin B 1 is particularly prone to occur where a special diet has been ordered, as in the treatment of obesity or of gastric or duodenal ulcer. In such cases it is advisable to supplement the diet by giving some preparation of the vitamin. In the pregnant and lactating woman the requirement of Vitamin B 1 is raised considerably, and in the nursing mother it is of particular importance to ensure an adequate supply, as it has been estimated (Sure, 1928) that 60 per cent. of the daily intake is lost in the milk. It has been suggested also that a B 1-deficient diet may contribute to a failure in lactation, while Balfour (1931) found a marked deficiency of this vitamin in the diets of women who had given birth to premature infants. Polyneuritis of preg-
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