HR 499 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HR 499 - Article Example 1. What is beriberi? (Hint: see paragraph above and your notes from the PowerPoint slides). Beri-beri is a disease caused by a thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Symptoms include weight loss, weakness, fatigue, muscle pain, nervous disorders, diarrhea, and irregular heart rate. 2. What was the health problem and when and where did it occur? During the year 1905 in the lunatic asylum of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a beri-beri epidemic broke out. 3. Describe the experiment in your own words. What year did the experiment start, how long did it last, who were the study subjects, what steps were taken during the experiment (methodology)? The experiment began on Dec. 5, 1905, and ended a little over a year later—Dec. 31, 1906. Patients at the lunatic asylum in Kuala Lumpur were randomly divided into two groups. After counting off, the odd numbered patients became the control group, and the even numbered patients became the experimental group. Both groups had identical housing, but they w ere separated from one another. Both groups also were given the same diets except for the type of rice. The control group continued to receive white (uncured) rice as the entire population of the asylum had been given in the past. The experimental group, however, received brown (cured rice). Both groups were tested for edema and their knee-jerk response at the outset of the experiment. 4.