In continuing studies in this laboratory on the role of thiamine in nervous tissue we have recently accumulated some evidence to suggest that the neurophysiologically active form of the vitamin may be thiamine triphosphate (TTP) as opposed to the coenzyme form, thiamine pyrophosphate (thiamine-PP) (l-3). Since a specific enzyme exists in brain which catalyzes the hydrolysis of thiamine-PP (4), ...

The diagnosis of thiamine deficiency is essentially made on clinical grounds and may present with neurological deficit such as peripheral neuropathy and Wernicke’s encephalopathy, or with high output heart failure (wet beriberi). This study was done to determine the frequency with which both the neurological and cardiovascular manifestations coexist in states of thiamine deficiency. The hospita...

Thiamine pyrophosphate is an essential cofactor involved in central metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis and is derived from thiamine (vitamin B(1)). The extent to which this metabolite is available to bacterial pathogens replicating within host cells is still little understood. Growth studies using modified minimal Welshimer's broth (mMWB) supplemented with thiamine or the thiamine precursor...

In bacteria, thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) is an essential cofactor that is synthesized de novo. Thiamine, however, is not an intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway but is salvaged from the environment and phosphorylated to TPP. We have isolated and characterized new mutants of Bacillus subtilis that deregulate thiamine biosynthesis and affect the export of thiamine products from the cell. Del...

OBJECTIVES To demonstrate that fatigue and other disorders related to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are the manifestation of an intracellular mild thiamine deficiency and not due to malabsorbtion, augmented requirements, or nutritional factors, and that this dysfunction is curable with high doses of thiamine administered orally or parenterally. DESIGN In this pilot study, we treated ...

A deficiency in the essential nutrient thiamine resulting from chronic alcohol consumption is one factor underlying alcohol-induced brain damage. Thiamine is a helper molecule (i.e., a cofactor) required by three enzymes involved in two pathways of carbohydrate metabolism. Because intermediate products of these pathways are needed for the generation of other essential molecules in the cells (e....

Thiamine state was investigated in patients with alcoholic liver disease, patients with various non-alcoholic liver diseases, and controls using a direct technique (thiochrome assay) to measure thiamine, thiamine monophospate, and the active coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate in whole blood after isolating the fractions by ion exchange chromatography. Overall nutrition was similar in all groups as...

BACKGROUND Infantile beriberi (thiamine deficiency) occurs mainly in infants breastfed by mothers with inadequate intake of thiamine, typically among vulnerable populations. We describe possible and probable cases of infantile thiamine deficiency in northern Laos. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Three surveys were conducted in Luang Namtha Province. First, we performed a retrospective survey o...

The effect of kinetin on the de novo formation of thiamine in tobacco callus cultures was measured by following the isotope dilution of previously introduced (14)C-thiamine. Thiamine was determined by the thiochrome fluorescence assay after chromatographic purification. Morphological effects induced by high kinetin concentrations were visible within a week after tissue transfer, but thiamine sy...