Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy in Monkeys Receiving a Diet Deficient in Both

S EVERAL years ago we observed unmistak-able signs of vitamin E deficiency in mon-keys receiving a diet containing, among other ingredients, polished rice and whole wheat. However, the diet contained a small amount of tocopherols and was therefore not well suited to the study of vitamin E deficiency. On this diet, muscular weakness and the chemical mm E. None of the rats developed an anemia during the period of the experiment. Some of the data are shown in Table I. In such experiments the rats deficient in vitamin E alone grew nearly as well as those receiving both vitamins. On the other hand, rats deficient in vitamin B, grew almost as poorly as those deficient in both vitamins.4 TABLE I evidences of vitamin E deficiency developed only after two or three years.2 Recently we’ ’ have obtained evidence on lower animals suggesting a metabolic interre-lationship between vitamin B, and vitamin E. Thus, when weanling albino rats were given a diet deficient in both vitamins B, and E they developed a leukocytosis characterized by greatly increased peripheral neutrophil counts. Supplementation of the diet with either of these vitamins prevented the increase. The vitamin B,-deficient rats exhibited a slight lymphopenia which was not affected by vita-Froni the Departmmient of Biochemnistrv, School o