First documented in 1735 by a Spanish physician named Gaspar Casal the niacin deficiency disease pellagra was originally named ‘mal de la rosa,’ or ‘red sickness.’ Its due to the telltale redness that appears around the necks of people with the disease.
Pellagra means ‘rough skin’ in Italian. The great pellagra epidemic in America’s South did not emerged until the early twentieth century.
Because the niacin coenzymes NAD and NADP are involved in just about very metabolite pathway, niacin deficiency wreaks havoc throughout the body. It also that the depressive psychosis is assumed to be because of inadequate formation of the neurotransmitter serotonin as a result of tryptophan deficiency.
The classical features of endemic pellagra are dermatitis, inflammation of the mucous membranes, diarrhea and psychiatric disturbances.
The dermatitis often appears after exposure to sunlight and resembles sunburn.
Pellagra condones to plaque people living in Southeast Asia and Africa however, whose diet lack sufficient niacin and protein.
Niacin deficiency
