ABSTRACT
The clinical manifestations of scurvy include fatigue, petechial hemorrhages, follicular hyperkeratosis, aching limbs, swollen bleeding gums, and effusions into the joints. J. Woodall in his book The Surgeon's Mate, published in 1639, recognized that depression was one of the earliest signs of scurvy. I. J Wood gave a full account of the medical history and physical findings relating to a 53-year-old woman with scurvy, but his description of her mental attitude is most pertinent here. Wood said that "She complained of pains in various parts of her body, a rash on her legs and weakness". The marked decrease in norepinephrine and increase in dopamine levels observed by R. Deana in brains of ascorbic acid-deficient guinea pigs suggest abnormal tyrosine metabolism as a possible cause of the mental depression of ascorbic acid deficiency. Dixit has suggested that one might find a decreased quantity of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl glycol, the breakdown product of norepinephrine, in the urines of patients with depression due to scurvy.
