vitamin-b-12 and Thiamine-Deficiency

Optimal functioning of the central and peripheral nervous system is dependent on appropriate nutrients. Neurologic consequences of nutritional deficiencies are not restricted to underdeveloped countries. Multiple nutritional deficiencies can coexist. Obesity is of particular concern in the developed world. The rising rate of bariatric surgery are accompanied by neurologic complications related to nutrient deficiencies. Prognosis depends on prompt recognition and institution of appropriate therapy. This review discusses peripheral nervous system manifestations related to the deficiency of key nutrients, neurologic complications associated with bariatric surgery, and conditions that have a geographic significance associated with bariatric surgery and certain conditions that have a geographic predilection.

Topics: Copper; Female; Folic Acid; Humans; Male; Niacin; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin E Deficiency

For more than 50 years, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences has been reviewing nutrition research and defining nutrient requirements for healthy people, referred to as the recommended dietary allowances (RDA). As new nutrition research is published, the importance of vitamins as vital nutrients is underscored, and new physiologic roles and applications to human health are examined and considered with regard to updating the RDA. Each year a substantial amount of research is published on vitamins. This article examines and summarizes noteworthy research published on individual water-soluble vitamins (excluding vitamin C) in the past 12 months, provides relevant background information on these vitamins, and offers critical reviews as appropriate.

Topics: Dietary Supplements; Female; Folic Acid; Folic Acid Deficiency; Homocysteine; Humans; Male; Neural Tube Defects; Niacinamide; Nutritional Requirements; Pregnancy; Riboflavin; Riboflavin Deficiency; Solubility; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin B 6; Vitamin B 6 Deficiency; Vitamin B Complex; Vitamin B Deficiency

Topics: Dietary Supplements; Female; Humans; Nutritional Requirements; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Pregnancy Outcome; Pyridoxine; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin B 6 Deficiency

Topics: Avitaminosis; Biological Transport, Active; Humans; Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Pyridoxine; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin B 6 Deficiency; Vitamins

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Animals; Biotin; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry; Child; Female; Folic Acid; Folic Acid Deficiency; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Mouth Diseases; Nicotinic Acids; Nutritional Requirements; Pellagra; Pregnancy; Riboflavin; Riboflavin Deficiency; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Tryptophan; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin B Complex; Vitamin B Deficiency

Topics: Alcoholism; Anticonvulsants; Cyanides; Deficiency Diseases; Electroencephalography; Erythrocytes; Folic Acid Deficiency; Humans; Isoniazid; Nervous System Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Pellagra; Polyneuropathies; Schilling Test; Spinal Cord Diseases; Thiamine Deficiency; Transketolase; Tryptophan; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin B 6 Deficiency; Vitamin B Deficiency; Wernicke Encephalopathy

The manuscript is a commenting on the article "Effects of vitamin B12, folate, and entacapone on homocysteine levels in levodopa-treated Parkinson's disease patients: A randomized controlled study", recently published by Anamnart and Kitjarak (2021), in this prestigious journal. The authors demonstrated that combination supplementation with vitamin B12 and folate was associated with significantly decreased plasma homocysteine (Hcy), suggesting that plasma Hcy levels should be monitored during levodopa treatment, and supplementation with inexpensive vitamin B12 and folate is beneficial for levodopa-treated PD patients. Considering some evidences - i) that it has to be indicated that dietary and supplemental thiamine intake has a protective effect on various medical conditions, including PD; ii) that several studies highlighted a possible relationship between PD low levels of thiamine in the serum, suggesting that elevated thiamine levels might protect against PD; iii) that thiamine deficiency is not just a common finding in patients with cardiovascular dysfunctions, but it might also have a role in the development and prognosis of PD - our research group believes that some comprehensive cardiovascular screening protocols should be developed for PD patients in order to reduce fatal events in these individuals.

Topics: Folic Acid; Homocysteine; Humans; Levodopa; Parkinson Disease; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12

The aim of this retrospective study was to search for risk factors for neurological adverse events in gastrointestinal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and analyze the relationship between thiamine serum levels and neurological adverse events.. This is a single-center retrospective observational study. We enrolled patients who were diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer at our hospital, for whom we measured the thiamine serum levels. We then performed a multivariate analysis (logistic regression) to identify risk factors for the neurological symptoms in our cohort. We then divided the patients into two groups, with and without neurological symptoms, based on their electronic medical records. By using the Mann-Whitney U-test, we performed a comparative analysis of the thiamine serum levels between the two groups. We also used descriptive statistics to examine the presence/absence of neurological symptoms or other potentially related clinical features in patients with decreased thiamine serum levels.. The logistic regression analysis detected the decrease in thiamine serum levels as a statistically significant risk factor for neurological symptoms. The analysis of the relationship between the presence/absence of neurological symptoms and thiamine serum levels showed that the thiamine serum levels were significantly lower in the group presenting neurological symptoms. Descriptive statistics showed that all the patients with decreased thiamine serum levels had either cognitive decline, attention decline, or depression symptoms, and most of them were receiving the 5-fluorouracil anticancer drug and showing decreased serum albumin levels. We also observed a slight decrease in serum sodium, vitamin B12, and folate levels.. When neurological symptoms occur in patients receiving chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer, the measurement of thiamine serum levels may become a standard reference for treatment indication.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Female; Fluorouracil; Folic Acid; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nervous System Diseases; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sodium; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Young Adult

Topics: Administration, Intravenous; Brain Diseases; Creatine Kinase; Dyspnea, Paroxysmal; Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Pregnancy, Multiple; Tachycardia, Sinus; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Young Adult

Micronutrient status may be a contributing factor to the development of childhood obesity in many industrializing countries passing the nutritional transition. The few studies investigating associations between serum concentrations of vitamin B and intake of B vitamins with adiposity, however, have reported inconsistent findings.. The aim of the study was to examine associations between serum vitamin B-12 and folate concentrations and intakes of B vitamins with body fat by using data on 1131 Mexican American children 8-15 y of age included in NHANES 2001-2004.. Children's body mass index (BMI), trunk fat mass (TrFM), and total body fat mass (TBFM) were used as body adiposity (BA) measures. Serum concentrations of folate and vitamin B-12 were measured in blood samples collected from children. Intake of B vitamins was collected according to 24-h dietary recall. Associations of BA with serum concentrations of vitamin B-12 and folate and intake of B vitamins were determined by using linear and multinomial regression models.. Serum concentrations of vitamin B-12 and folate were inversely associated with BMI (β: -2.68, P < 0.01; β = -1.33, P < 0.01), TrFM (β:-3.32, P < 0.01; β: -0.14, P < 0.05), and TBFM (β:-1.93, P < 0.01; β: -3.19; P < 0.01). Higher serum concentrations of vitamin B-12 were associated with a reduced risk of obesity (OR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.31, 0.77; P < 0.001). Thiamin and riboflavin intakes were inversely associated with BMI (β:-1.35, P < 0.05; β: -1.11, P < 0.05) and TrFM (β:-1.26, P < 0.05; β: -1.37, P < 0.05).. Similar inverse associations between BA and status of both vitamin B-12 and folate and intake of thiamin and riboflavin suggest that these micronutrients may play a role in adipogenesis and risk of childhood obesity.

Topics: Adiposity; Adolescent; Body Mass Index; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Folic Acid; Folic Acid Deficiency; Humans; Linear Models; Male; Mental Recall; Mexican Americans; Micronutrients; Multivariate Analysis; Nutrition Surveys; Pediatric Obesity; Riboflavin; Riboflavin Deficiency; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

A 52-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of appetite loss, unsteadiness, psychogenic symptoms, ataxia, and consciousness disturbance as a result of the ingestion of a diet restricted to only carbohydrates for a long term. Laboratory examination indicated the presence of pancytopenia with macrocytic anemia; further, decreased vitamin B1 and B12 levels were detected in her serum. Magnetic resonance imaging fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), revealed high-signal intensity in the bilateral corpus striatum, third ventricle circumference, and cerebellar cortex. Thereafter, she received drip infusion that did not include vitamin B1 or B12 and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest due to the aggravation of cardiac insufficiency; consequently, she was transferred to our hospital. Upon admission the patient was diagnosed to have obvious cardiomegaly with pleural effusion; further, a negative T-wave was obtained on the electrocardiogram. A diagnosis of beriberi heart disease was made because of thiamine deficiency. She was treated by thiamine administration, following which the cardiac symptoms improved immediately. Various neurological symptoms caused by encephalopathy, peripheral neuropathy and subacute combined spinal cord degeneration improved by treatment with thiamine and cyanocobalamine administration; however, some of these symptoms still remained. General awareness of the fact that neurological symptoms can be caused by vitamin deficiency is essential.

Topics: Beriberi; Cardiomegaly; Corpus Striatum; Female; Folic Acid; Folic Acid Deficiency; Heart Arrest; Humans; Middle Aged; Subacute Combined Degeneration; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Treatment Outcome; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Wernicke Encephalopathy

Nutritional status and vitamin B6 status were assessed in 18 men and 32 women, average age 84, living in a home for the aged. Average proportion of energy derived from protein was higher than the recommended; fiber intake was very low. Also low were intakes of calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, vitamins D and E, thiamin, folic acid and vitamin B6. Supplementation with vitamin B6 (10 mg/d) for 28 days in those with the lowest B6 status assessed by B6 intake, activation coefficient of aspartate transaminase and plasma pyridoxamine concentrations led to improved B6 status (marked decrease in activation coefficient) and increased synthesis and decreased degradation of many short-lived neutrophil proteins. Though our elderly enjoy a variety of foods, some have marginal deficiencies that can be improved. Therefore, in the institutionalized elderly, micronutrient supplementation should be administered at a level low enough to be safe (below recommended upper level of intake) but high enough to be effective.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Dietary Proteins; Dietary Supplements; Female; Homes for the Aged; Humans; Male; Nursing Homes; Nutrition Policy; Nutritional Status; Thiamine Deficiency; Trace Elements; Vitamin B 12; Vitamins

This cross-sectional study involved 204 elderly individuals (93 males and 111 females). Subjects were randomly recruited using a list on which all 60-75 y-old-people living in seven sub-villages in Jakarta were included. The usual food intake was estimated using semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires. Hemoglobin, plasma retinol, vitamin B-12, red blood cell folate and the percentage stimulation of erythrocyte transketolase (ETK), as an indicator of thiamine status, were analyzed. Median energy intake was below the assessed requirement. More than 75% of the subjects had iron and thiamine intakes of approximately 2/3 of the recommended daily intake, and 20.2% of the study population had folate intake of approximately 2/3 of the recommended daily intake. Intakes of vitamins A and B-12 were adequate. Biochemical assessments demonstrated that 36.6% of the subjects had low thiamine levels (ETK stimulation > 25%). The elderly men tended to have lower thiamine levels than the elderly women. The overall prevalence of anemia was 28.9%, and the elderly women were affected more than the elderly men. Low biochemical status of vitamins A, B-12 and RBC folate was found in 5.4%, 8.8 % and 2.9% of the subjects, respectively. Dietary intakes of thiamine and folate were associated with ETK stimulation and plasma vitamin B-12 concentration (r = 0.176, P = 0.012 and r = 0.77, P = 0.001), respectively. Results of this study suggest that anemia, thiamine and possibly vitamin B-12 deficiency are prevalent in the elderly living in Indonesia. Clearly, micronutrient supplementation may be beneficial for the Indonesian elderly population living in underprivileged areas.

Topics: Aged; Aging; Body Mass Index; Diet; Energy Intake; Erythrocytes; Female; Folic Acid; Health Status; Hemoglobins; Humans; Indonesia; Male; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thiamine Deficiency; Transketolase; Urban Population; Vitamin A; Vitamin B 12

Some indices of nutrition have been examined in hostel- and non-hostel-dwelling groups of industrially employed black males. Hostel-dwellers in the large metropolitan areas have to prepare their own food and many are accustomed to excessive alcohol intake, especially of sorghum beer. In the two groups studied, blood levels of vitamin B12, folate, pyridoxal and albumin were similar, but erythrocyte thiamine levels were significantly lower in the hostel-dwellers. Although the proportion of subjects with elevated levels of gamma-glutamyltransferase, an index of alcoholic liver disease, was similar in the two groups, thiamine-deficient hostel-dwellers had a greater proportion of elevated values suggesting that thiamine deficiency was related to both inadequate diet and excessive alcohol consumption. Fortification of sorghum beer with thiamine might prevent or reduce thiamine deficiency in this group. The cost would not materially affect the price of the beer.

Topics: Adult; Alcohol Drinking; Beer; Black or African American; Black People; Erythrocytes; Folic Acid; Food, Fortified; gamma-Glutamyltransferase; Housing; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pilot Projects; Pyridoxal; Random Allocation; Serum Albumin; South Africa; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Urban Population; Vitamin B 12

Vitamin B1- and B-deficient encephalopathy was produced in adult Wistar rats and the effect of methylcobalamin was studied. These experiments were performed in vitamin B1- or B-deficient rats with or without the administration of guanidine, a magnesium antagonist. These encephalopathic rats showed symmetrical lesions in the pontine tegmentum. No pathological changes in the brainstem were seen in guanidine-administered rats. This suggests that guanidine itself doesn't produce these brainstem lesions. Moderate to severe pathological changes occurred in vitamin B-deficient rats with guanidine administration, whereas these pathological changes were milder in vitamin B1-deficient rats with guanidine administration and in vitamin B1- and B-deficient rats with the combination of the guanidine and methylcobalamin administrations. These facts suggest that vitamin B12, methylcobalamin, plays an important preventive role in the development of the pontine lesions in this experiment.

Topics: Animals; Brain; Brain Diseases; Guanidine; Guanidines; Male; Pons; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B Deficiency

The complexities of physiologic interactions between the nutritional status of the aged and the incidence of dementia in the elderly should be obvious from this partial survey of the field. Investigations aimed at delineating the role of individual nutrients in mentation among the elderly are extremely difficult to design and perform. However, the potential for practical applications of the results is indeed very high. The studies discussed in this article permit the following conclusions. Although many attempts have been made to enhance average life expectancy through nutritional manipulation, no such panacea currently exists. There is a well-documented decrease in caloric intake among the elderly. However, this does not seem to put them at any higher risk of developing overt deficiencies of specific nutrients. The elderly population in this country has a strong tendency to consume nutritional supplements, with vitamins C and E being the most popular. It is unknown at present whether this practice has any health value. Several attempts have been made to alter the course of dementia in the elderly through nutritional means. Attempts to ameliorate the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease through use of choline and lecithin have been overwhelmingly unsuccessful. The postulate that aluminum toxicity is an etiologic factor in this disease remains unproven, and therapies with chelating agents are not now advisable. Vitamin B12 has to be seriously considered as a causative factor in dementia; it is hoped that methods to test vitamin B12 nutriture in humans that are both more reliable and more capable of revealing marginal deficiency states will emerge. Although folic acid is intimately related biochemically and nutritionally to vitamin B12, its potential role in normal mental function remains largely unknown. Clearly, when considering nutrition and dementia in the elderly, there are many areas that still require thorough scientific investigation. Hopefully, the future will see an increase in research activity, resulting in answers to many of the questions posed in this paper.

Topics: Acetylcholine; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Aluminum; Choline; Cognition; Dementia; Folic Acid; Humans; Nutritional Requirements; Nutritional Status; Phosphatidylcholines; Psychoses, Alcoholic; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12

Twenty patients who had symptoms that were apparently neurotically functional are reported because they proved to have abnormal red cell transketolase activity. Although in many of the cases the etiology appeared to be associated with heavy consumption of "junk" foods, carbonated or sweet beverages, and candy, this was not so in all of them and the etiology in these cases remains obscure. The symptoms in all 20 patients could be correlated with those well documented in early beriberi and all were clinically improved by the administration of thiamin. In only two cases were other vitamins administered. Such improvement was slow and there were no dramatic recoveries. In 10 patients improved transketolase activity was correlated with clinical well-being. The other 10 patients did not keep their return appointments. Telephone contract revealed that they were asymptomatic.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Diet; Erythrocytes; Female; Folic Acid; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; Neurotic Disorders; Nutrition Disorders; Pregnancy; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Transketolase; Vitamin B 12

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aging; Ascorbic Acid; Ascorbic Acid Deficiency; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nicotinic Acids; Nutritional Requirements; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin A; Vitamin A Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin E; Vitamin E Deficiency; Vitamins

Topics: 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate-Homocysteine S-Methyltransferase; Adult; Anemia, Macrocytic; Anemia, Megaloblastic; Ascorbic Acid Deficiency; Child; Female; Folic Acid; Folic Acid Antagonists; Folic Acid Deficiency; Humans; Infant; Intestinal Diseases; Malabsorption Syndromes; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Nutritional Requirements; Orotic Acid; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Tetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase; Thiamine Deficiency; Transferases; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency; Vitamin E Deficiency

Topics: Animals; Biotransformation; Digestion; Food Additives; Food Analysis; Food Preservation; Intestinal Absorption; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Pyridoxine; Rats; Riboflavin; Thiamine; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B Complex

Topics: Avitaminosis; Biotin; Diagnosis; Folic Acid; Humans; Niacin; Niacinamide; Pantothenic Acid; Pharmacology; Riboflavin Deficiency; Thiamine Deficiency; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 6 Deficiency; Vitamin B Complex