Pellegra as basis for Vampire "myth"?

[Alyushia]

I wasn't sure if this should go here, or in history, myths etc. If this is the inappropriate place please feel free to move it.

I have often heard of the idea that some of the vampire "myths" being based upon the illness Porphyria (sp?). I had not heard of this theory until recently. This one is based on the illness Pellegra: "Pellagra and the origin of a myth: evidence from European literature and folklore."

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1296679&pageindex=1#page

It is a PDF file from the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

I would be interested in opinions about this article.

[gypsy mouse]

i hadent heard of it.. cut and pasted a few excerps from what i found....
emedicine
Pellagra
Last Updated: June 19, 2006
Author: Kumaravel Rajakumar, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh

History: Typically, classic pellagra is defined by the 3 Ds: dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia. Pellagra can be induced experimentally in 6-8 weeks with exposure to a pellagragenic diet. In endemic cases, pellagra tends to be seasonal and occurs during spring and early summer. Early symptoms are nonspecific. Patients express weakness, lassitude, and anorexia. Soon, classic symptoms of dermatitis, mental state disturbances, and GI involvement follow.

Skin
Affected skin lesions initially are erythematous and are associated with itching and a burning sensation. The distribution of the cutaneous eruption is typically symmetrical and bilateral on areas prone to sunlight exposure.
Blistering and vesiculation of affected skin may follow.
As the dermatitis progresses, the affected skin becomes hyperpigmented and thickened.
GI
Patients with pellagra tend to suffer from poor appetite, nausea, epigastric discomfort, abdominal pain, and increased salivation.
Glossitis typically causes soreness of the mouth and dysphagia.
Diarrhea is the manifestation of GI inflammation. Diarrhea typically is watery but occasionally can be bloody and mucoid.
Neuropsychiatric
Early neuropsychiatric symptoms of pellagra include depression, anxiety, irritability, and poor concentration.
As the disease advances, patients become disoriented, confused, and delirious. Eventually, the patient becomes stuporous and comatose, and then the patient dies.
Physical:

Skin
Typically, the skin lesions of pellagra are represented by a photosensitive dermatitis noted over parts of the body that have been exposed to the sun. They tend to be bilateral and symmetrical in distribution.
Skin lesions initially resemble a typical sunburn and tend to be symmetrical. Lesions may blister, vesiculate, and denude.
Eventually, the affected skin thickens and becomes hyperpigmented.
Parts of the body usually involved include the dorsum of the hands, feet, forearms, and legs; the face presents with a butterfly distribution over the cheeks, forehead, tip of the nose, and front V of the neck. The neck lesion is referred to as the Casal necklace, named after Don Gasper Casal who first described pellagra. Facial seborrheic dermatitis also is observed in some patients. The scrotum, perineum, and pressure points also may be involved.
GI tract
Anorexia and malabsorptive diarrhea lead to a state of malnutrition.
Often, the glossitis is severe and is associated with swelling and tenderness of the tongue. The tongue becomes beefy red and has a raw appearance secondary to atrophy of the papillae.
Neurologic
Muscle weakness leads to gait problems.
Paraesthesia and a burning sensation are noted in some patients.
Causes:

Dietary deficiency of niacin or its amino acid precursor tryptophan results in pellagra.

Dietary amino acid imbalances also are associated with the development of pellagra. Excessive leucine noted in diets in which sorghum is a staple causes an amino acid imbalance, which interferes with tryptophan metabolism resulting in the development of pellagra.
Risk factors for pellagra genesis include the following:
Poverty
Poor nutrition
Chronic alcoholism
Food faddism
Malabsorptive states
Isoniazid therapy: Pyridoxine deficiency secondary to isoniazid treatment could cause pellagra, because pyridoxine is required for the conversion of tryptophan to niacin.

Other medications: 5-flurouracil, pyrazinamide, 6-mercaptopurine, hydantoins, ethionamide, phenobarbital, azathioprine, and cholramphenicol
Hartnup disease: This is an inborn error of tryptophan metabolism and a cause of infantile pellagra.
Cirrhosis of the liver
Diabetes mellitus
Prolonged febrile illness
Prolonged diarrhea
Anorexia nervosa
Neglect and abuse, resulting in malnutrition
Famine
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease



Medical Care: Nicotinamide or niacin taken orally is usually effective in reversing the clinical manifestations of pellagra. As patients often are malnourished and suffer from other vitamin deficiencies, provision of a high-protein diet and B-complex vitamins is needed for complete restoration of health.

Diet: In order to prevent and/or treat pellagra, provide a diet high in protein and adequate in calories. The addition of meats, milk, peanuts, green leafy vegetables, whole or enriched grains, and brewers' dry yeast can enhance the niacin intake. In patients with oral dysphagia secondary to glossitis, a liquid or a semisolid diet may be required. Long-term inclusion of milk, meat, and eggs in the diet ensures dietary adequacy of proteins essential for recovery.

Activity: Bed rest is mandatory in treatment of severe cases of pellagra.

[gypsy mouse]

people post!!!!
boss man... rev dev... preist....em....sangel....someone....i know you remmember those threads.... bring the debate back up will ya... im starting to think theres mass delusions of grandour running round the vamp comunity...

[kyuuketsuki_kurai]

Pellegra is an illness caused mainly by poor nuitrition, and it used to be common in orphanages.
It's symptoms are not particularly eye-catching nor anything I would ever honestly mix up with vampirism. The main form of the dermititis that presents itself is a thick, scaly, itchy, red rash which is photosensitive, but not extremely so. The dementia is only present when the illness is left untreated for quite some time (It is importnant to note that most cases of malnuitrition will result in mental instability when left untreated). Diaherria will also show itself in most cases of malnuitrition, as well. Another main sign is that the afflicted person's tongue ends up looking similar to raw meat. It turns very red and raw, and this, coupled with the rash, is one of the main symptoms they look for.
I don't really see the comparison.

[Alyushia]

While I found the article interesting, I was a bit confused as well. *shrugs*
It was a new one on me.

[gypsy mouse]

yeah that wasent the name of the disease folks were throwin about back in the day... i canr remmber what it was called......sounded real possible though.....wheres the ol' heads when you need them....

[Preist]

Sorry gypsy will take a look around for ya on that one my head is well and trully up my ass lately was reading that one for the first time there and read no consentration 3 times

was quite intrested in the fat that Niacin was being used as a medication for this condition its a main ingredient in alot of breckfast cerials and energy drinks like red bull and so forth

as for similarities to an older named disease cant think at the moment only one that springs to mind was the black death through the legions and markings around the neck norrmaly bruising but dont think thats what your look for is it hun lol

Preist

[gypsy mouse]

inky would remember....

[Alyushia]

Are you thinking of Porphyria? Cutaneous porphyria

"The erythropoietic porphyrias primarily affect the skin, causing photosensitivity (photodermatitis), blisters, necrosis of the skin and gums, itching, and swelling, and increased hair growth on areas such as the forehead.

In some forms of porphyria, accumulated heme precursors excreted in the urine may cause various changes in color, after exposure to sunlight, to a dark reddish or dark brown color. Even a purple hue or pink urine may be seen. Heme precursors may also accumulate in the teeth and fingernails, giving them a reddish appearance."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyria


Lupus can also have similar symptoms as well.
There is also some evidence, I believe, of people thinking TB was vampirism.

[gypsy mouse]

thats the one they were debateing....i wasnt so sure of it myself as not all symptoms fit with whati know of vampirism...but thats the one they were talking about... a few others came up but that one was mentioned the most... could it be a strain of it?

[Alyushia]

Porphyria is the one I have heard mentioned the most in connection with vampirism.

[Preist]

you know i would have said Porphyria gypsy hun but thought it wasent what you were looking for becuase its mentioned in the first post on this thread but yeh its got a relation to vampiresim as the wose cases cant spend any time in the sun light without blistering and burning there skin and eyes are very sensitive to sun light and some find drinking things like beef blood to aleviate there pains

tis either that or its blood transfusions for most

Preist

[Alyushia]

Porphyria seems to be the most common one.

[gypsy mouse]

nope i dont like that one either.....i think its just a undiegnosed one personally....

[Alyushia]

*chuckles*