Beriberi.

  • Vedder, Edward B. (Edward Bright), 1878-
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Beriberi. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    became impossible to doubt the importance of rice in the production of beriberi. It would be futile to attempt to present this evidence here because of its great volume. And even were it possible it would not be desirable, because every one interested in the subject of beriberi should read Braddon's book. In this book Braddon proved: i. That beriberi attacks those that are rice caters and does not attack those who do not eat rice.* 2. That among rice eaters its incidence varies with the sort of rice eaten. Those eating white, polished or over- milled rice are subject to the disease, while those eating hand-pounded rice or cured rice never suffer from beriberi. Braddon, indeed, thought he proved that beriberi was an intoxication due to a fungus growing in the decorticated rice. This part of his views is sufficiently dis- posed of in Chapter VII. The rejection of this part of Braddon's hypothesis does not, however, diminish the importance of his com- munication, which alone turned the attention of the world seriously toward rice. Nothing but the contribution of a master mind could have accomplished this result in a world so blind as to ignore the results Takaki had recorded some years earlier (1893). One of the first converts to Braddon's view was W. Gilmore Ellis, who stated so positively in 1903 that beriberi was a place infection, and the following account taken from his article published in 1909 loses nothing from this fact: Beriberi, endemic since the opening of the Singapore Lunatic Asylum in 1887, broke out in an appalling manner early in i8g6 and resisted all endeavors to combat its ravages until towards the end of 1901 when I began to experiment with Bengal (cured) rice. In these earlier experiments carried on throughout the years 1902 and 1903 some of the patients were given a diet with cured rice and some with uncured rice for varying periods, and, watching the results, it appeared that there was something in Braddon's theory. In 1904 all patients were kept on cured rice until October i6th without a case of beriberi occurring; upon this date a change was made to uncured rice with the result that we had 15 cases in December with one death. Through- out 1905 several changes were made from cured rice to uncured rice and back again. These experiments so increased my belief in the theory that in 1906 we ran the first eleven months of the year on cured rice and without a single case of beriberi. This result decided me to make one last and systematic trial of the two varieties of rice, and I deter- * With certain exceptions such n.s cases of ship beriberi referred to elsewhere and the beriberi occurring among natives of those countries where a similar starchy food is used as the staple article of diet.