Relationship of a degenerative tropical neuropathy to diet: report of a field survey.

A survey of neurological abnormalities in two Nigerian villages preselected for their differing consumption of cassava has shown that a degenerative neuropathy occurs with relatively high frequency in the village (Ososa) where cassava consumption was high.It is suggested that eating cassava results in exposure to cyanide, as shown by a raised plasma thiocyanate level, and that the latter, together with other factors, may contribute to the pathogenesis of "tropical neuropathy."