Berserk Effect: A powerful attack that leaves the Barbarian more vulnerable.
Berserk completely converts damage to magic damage so you cannot steal life/mana with Berserk, even with life tap.
You don't take damage from Iron Maiden and Thorns if you just go "Berserk". Because they only reflect physical damage, not magical.
For the stated duration afterwards your defense is zero. You also do not receive the Iron Skin or Dexterity bonus. You can still block as if you are using a shield, however. A defense of 0 will let you block all the time, thus quite often hinder you from doing anything else. Consider not wearing a shield.