What is pellagra and its symptoms?

What is pellagra and its symptoms?

The main symptoms of pellagra are dermatitis, dementia, and diarrhea. This is because niacin deficiency is most noticeable in body parts with high rates of cell turnover, such as your skin or gastrointestinal tract. Dermatitis related to pellagra usually causes a rash on the face, lips, feet, or hands.

Where is pellagra most commonly found?

Pellagra was studied mostly in Europe until the late 19th century when it became epidemic especially in the southern United States. In the early 1900s, pellagra reached epidemic proportions in the American South.

What is the cure for pellagra?

Oral therapy with nicotinamide or niacin usually is effective in reversing the clinical manifestations of pellagra. Because patients are often malnourished and have other vitamin deficiencies, provisions for a high-protein diet and the administration of B-complex vitamins are needed for complete recovery.

What food causes pellagra?

What causes pellagra? The most common cause of pellagra is inadequate intake of the B vitamin known as niacin (primary pellagra). The most typical cause of primary pellagra is not consuming enough green vegetables, seafood, meat, and eggs. Alcoholism is commonly associated with pellagra as the result of malnutrition.

How is pellagra diagnosed?

The diagnosis of pellagra is based on the patient’s history and the presence of “3 D syndrome”: dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia. The dermatitis caused by pellagra is a bilaterally symmetrical erythema at the sites of solar exposure.

Is pellagra reversible?

Pellagra can be reversed by giving niacin accompanied by a high energy diet that is rich in all other B-vitamins, zinc, and magnesium that are important for optimum metabolic reactions in the body.

What is the deficiency of pellagra?

Pellagra is a systemic disease that results from severe vitamin B3 (Niacin) deficiency. Mild deficiency may go unnoticed, but a diet chronically low or without Niacin may result in the 4 D’s: diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and possibly even death. Usually diarrhea will occur before the other D’s.

Do people still get pellagra?

Pellagra often is considered to be extinct in developed countries, but it still occurs in rare instances. It is caused by niacin deficiency, but can also develop secondary to deficiency of tryptophan, a precursor of niacin.

Is pellagra an autoimmune disorder?

The diagnosis of pellagra is usually based on the clinical characteristics of the dermatitis and on the response to treatment. SS may present as a primary disease or in association with other autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

What are the 4 D’s of pellagra?

Pellagra defines systemic disease as resulting from a marked cellular deficiency of niacin. It is characterized by 4 “D’s”: diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and death. Diagnosis of pellagra is difficult in the absence of the skin lesions, and is often facilitated by the presence of characteristic ones.

Why is pellagra no longer a problem?

What are the symptoms of low vitamin B6?

In adults, vitamin B6 deficiency can cause inflammation of the skin (dermatitis) and a red, greasy, scaly rash. The hands and feet may feel numb and prickling—like pins and needles. The tongue may become sore and red, and cracks may form in the corners of the mouth. People may become confused, irritable, and depressed.

Where does pellagra come from in the world?

Pellagra is common in poor parts of the world, such as Africa and India, where corn (or maize) is a staple food. This is because corn is a poor source of tryptophan and niacin. In the United States, pellagra was prevalent in the early 1900’s in the South where corn played a large role in the diet.

What are the signs and symptoms of pellagra?

Pellagra is a disease caused by low levels of niacin, also known as vitamin B-3. It’s marked by dementia, diarrhea, and dermatitis, also known as “the three Ds”.

Which is an example of a pellagra drug?

Some examples would be anorexia nervosa, chronic alcohol abuse, Crohn’s disease, carcinoid syndrome, other B vitamin deficiencies, and medications such as isoniazid (used in the treatment of tuberculosis).