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Top: Health: Conditions_and_Diseases: Nutrition_and_Metabolism_Disorders: Vitamins_and_Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are a vital part of a healthy diet. If a person eats a variety of foods, the likelihood of developing a deficiency of these nutrients is very small. However, people who follow restrictive diets may not get enough of a particular vitamin or mineral. For example, strict vegetarians may become deficient in vitamin B12, which is available only in animal products. On the other hand, consuming large amounts (megadoses) of vitamin and mineral supplements, without medical supervision, may have harmful (toxic) effects.Source: The Merck Manual Home Edition
Beriberi, ailment caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine), the symptoms of which may include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception, weakness, and periods of irregular heartbeat."Beriberi," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Imerslund-Grasbeck syndrome, also known as selective intestinal malabsorption of vitamin B12, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by vitamin B12 deficiency commonly resulting in megaloblastic anemia, which is responsive to parenteral vitamin B12 therapy and appears in childhood. Other manifestations include failure to thrive and grow, infections and neurological damage. Mild proteinuria (with no signs of kidney disease) is present in about half of the patients, and sometimes with anatomical anomalies in the urinary tract. The syndrome was first described in Finland and Norway where the prevalence is about 1:200,000.
A disease caused by a deficient diet or failure of the body to absorb niacin or an amino acid.
Rickets, nutritional disorder characterized by skeletal deformities. Rickets is caused by a decreased concentration of the mineral hydroxyapatite in bones and cartilage due to low levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. Vitamin D is essential for the maintenance of normal calcium and phosphorus levels. Classic rickets, a deficiency disease of children characterized by improper development or hardening of bones, is due to lack of sufficient vitamin D in the diet, or to insufficient ultraviolet radiation from direct sunlight, a lack that prevents conversion of the element 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to vitamin D. The type of skeletal deformities depends largely on the child's age when the vitamin-D deficiency occurs. A child who has not yet learned to walk develops vertebral curvatures; a walking child develops leg curvatures. "Rickets," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Scurvy may be the oldest known dietary deficiency disease. A shortage of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in the diet causes pain in the limbs, and swelling and bleeding gums.
Treatment generally consists of ensuring liberal quantities of foods rich in vitamin C, fresh air, and sunshine.
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Sites submitted to this category must provide educational information on Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome for patients, their families and caregivers.
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Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a disorder caused by a thiamine deficiency. Initially damage occurs to various nerves in the central nervous system. As the condition progresses, it effects the area of the brain that controls memory.
Because heavy alcohol use interferes with the metabolism of thiamine, this condition is not uncommon in patients with chronic alcoholism.
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