Pellagra: An uncommon disease in the modern era - A case report
Keywords:
Dermatitis, diarrhea, niacin deficiency, pellagraAbstract
Pellagra is a state of niacin deficiency, a vitamin required for various metabolic processes, cell signaling and DNA repair. It is characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis and dementia that can ultimately lead to death. The disease can occur due to dietary deficiency or due to interference of metabolism or absorption of niacin as in alcoholism, drug intake or gastrointestinal disease. Pellagra due to primary dietary deficiency is considered rare nowadays. We describe an adult female with classical features of pellagra but lacking involvement of face and neck, possibly due to dietary deficiency with a view to highlight that a strong clinical suspicion and careful socio-nutritional history is important to avoid missing such cases. Absence of facial and neck involvement also adds rarity to our caseReferences
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