Vitamin B1 - Thiamine Deficiency
Symptoms
Confusion, constipation, digestive problems, irritability.
Overview
According to the US neurologists, vitamin B1 deficiency can cause a potentially fatal brain disorder called Wernicke encephalopathy.
Wernicke's encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disorder caused by the lack of thiamine (vitamin B1). It may result from alcohol abuse, dietary deficiencies, prolonged vomiting, eating disorders, or the effects of chemotherapy. B1 deficiency causes damage to the brain's thalamus and hypothalamus. Symptoms include mental confusion, vision problems, coma, hypothermia, low blood pressure, and lack of muscle coordination (ataxia). Korsakoff syndrome (also called Korsakoff's amnesic syndrome) is a memory disorder that results from vitamin B1 deficiency and is associated with alcoholism. Korsakoff's syndrome damages nerve cells and supporting cells in the brain and spinal cord, as well as the part of the brain involved with memory. Symptoms include amnesia, tremor, coma, disorientation, and vision problems.
Thiamine deficiency is likely to be underdiagnosed.
Conditions / Diseases risk
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome : It is a brain disorder caused by vitamin B1 (thiamin) deficiency. The syndrome is actually two disorders: Wernicke's disease involves damage to nerves in the central and peripheral nervous systems and is generally caused by malnutrition stemming from habitual alcohol abuse. Korsakoff syndrome is characterized by memory impairment and nerve damage.
High doses of thiamin have shown to improve muscle coordination and confusion, but only rarely improved memory loss.
Thiamine has become the only vitamin supplement to be regularly administered via the veins (‘parenteral’) to treat extreme alcoholism and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome in hospital emergency departments.
Alzheimer’s disease : Due to lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine) can cause dementia in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (see above), it has been proposed that thiamin might help reduce severity of Alzheimer's disease.
Congestive heart failure (CHF): It is a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body's other organs, is a common disease, especially in the elderly. As in the general population, older CHF patients were found to be at higher risk of vitamin B1 (thiamin) deficiency than younger ones. Diuretics used in the treatment of CHF, notably furosemide, have been found to increase thiamin excretion, potentially leading to marginal thiamin deficiency. Therefore, it may be reasonable to provide such patients with thiamine supplementation during heart failure exacerbations.
Presently, the role of thiamin supplementation in maintaining cardiac function in CHF patients remains controversial.
Cancer : As vitamin B1 (thiamin) deficiency has been observed in some cancer patients with rapidly growing tumors, thiamin supplementation is common in such patients to prevent deficiency.
Some experts have theorized that too much thiamin may actually fuel the growth of cancer cells, as rapidly dividing cancer cells have a high requirement for thiamin, due to an increased level of nucleic acids.
However, there is no evidence available from studies in humans to support this theory. Cancer patients who are considering thiamin supplementation should discuss it with the managing clinician.