What are the signs and symptoms of beriberi?
There are two major clinical manifestations of beriberi. Once involves the cardiovascular system (wet beriberi) and the other the nervous system (dry beriberi and the so-called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome). The typical patient has mixed symptoms involving both the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Which set of symptoms is most prevalent depends on the duration and severity of the deficiency, the amount of physical exertion and the calorie intake. A lot of physical activity, a high carbohydrate diet and a moderate degree of chronic deficiency lead to wet beriberi. The opposite favours the development of dry beriberi. Early symptoms of deficiency are fatigue, irritation, poor memory, sleep disturbances, pain in the chest, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort and constipation. Dry beriberi results in pins and needles in the toes, burning of the feet (particularly severe at night), calf muscle cramps and pains in the legs. The arms may become involved later in the illness. Beriberi inv
