Scurvy Scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms include weakness, feeling tired, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding from the skin may occur. As scurvy worsens there can be poor wound healing, personality changes, and finally death from infection or bleeding. Typically, scurvy is caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet. It takes at least a month of little to no vitamin C before symptoms occur. In modern times, it occurs most commonly in people with mental
Vitamin A deficiency reference point for the extent of deficiency (with mortality increasing with severity of the eye disease). In a longitudinal study of preschool Indonesian children, susceptibility to disease increased nine times when severe VAD was present. The reason for the increased infection rate in vitamin A deficient populations is the T-killer cells require retinoids to proliferate correctly. Retinoic acid binds the promoter region of specific genes, so activates the transcription process and cell replication. A vitamin A-deficient diet will have a very limited surplus of retinol, so cell proliferation and replication will be suppressed, contributing to a reduced number of T-cells