Cases of beriberi resulting from inadequate absorption of vitamin B1 as a consequence of prolonged vomiting in such conditions as pyloric obstruction or pregnancy, prolonged diarrhea, or short circuiting of the bowel have been reported, but in none was the disease as severe as in ours, nor, as far as we know, have all three etiologic factors previously occurred in the same case.
REPORT OF CASE
History.—
E. G., a white man aged 39, who had been confined to bed for about two months because of paralysis of the lower extremities, was first seen by us Feb. 21, 1938. His nervous symptoms began early in December 1937, with numbness in the epigastrium. The numbness gradually spread downward over the lower part of the abdomen and the medial surfaces of the thighs and ultimately involved the entire lower extremities. Pain in the legs, insteps and arches began at about the