Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, is required in most organisms at several stages of metabolism, such as glucose metabolism, and as a regulator of neuro-muscular communication. All organisms use thiamine, but it is only synthesized in bacteria, fungi and plants; therefore, animals must obtain it from the diet. Insufficient thiamine in mammals results in a disease called beriberi, which affects the peripheral nervous system and the cardiovascular system and can confound diabetes, resulting in possible fatal outcomes.
Thiamine Deficiency
Many people with diabetes have a deficiency of dietary thiamine. Lack of thiamine or defects in its transport can cause a number of severe disorders; most notably, inhibiting the pathways supplying energy to the tissues. A September 2010 article appearing in the "Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition" found that the uptake of glucose, due to insufficient thiamine, was inhibited by up to 40 percent. In this study, rats fed thiamine-deficient diets suppressed insulin secretion. Feeding of rats with this diet for one month caused the reduction of serum insulin by 14 percent. In the same animals, glucose transport was reduced more than two-fold, suggesting a decreased efficiency of insulin action and dependence upon thiamine for proper glucose metabolism.
Diabetes as a Thiamine-Deficient State
Thiamine plays an important role in the regulation of glucose metabolism and pancreatic beta-cell functioning--producing the hormone insulin--and, therefore, diabetes could be considered a thiamine-deficient state. In a review article, published September 2008 in the medical journal "Acta Diabetologica," thiamine deficiency was described in diabetic patients. The researchers demonstrated that the condition could be corrected by thiamine supplementation, which counteracted the damaging effects of hyperglycemia--increased glucose concentrations--on vascular cells and improved associated neuropathic symptoms. They concluded that "clinical trials on diabetic patients would be necessary to test this vitamin as a potential and inexpensive approach to the prevention and/or treatment of diabetic vascular complications."
Further Diabetic Studies
A September 2006 issue of "Annals of Vascular Surgery" documented a study evaluating the effect of thiamine on brachial, or lung, artery vasoactivity, called BAVA, in the presence of hyperglycemia, or low blood glucose levels. A control group of 10 healthy subjects, 10 patients with impaired glucose tolerance and 10 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were studied. Ultrasound was used to measure brachial artery flow following tourniquet occlusion for 5 minutes. BAVA evaluation was repeated after administration of 100 milligrams of intravenous thiamine. BAVA improved following administration of thiamine. The researchers described the mechanism by which thiamine improved endothelial function and slowed the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Further, a June 1999 issue of "Acta Diabetologica" published an article with the specific aim to determine whether a form of thiamine--benzoyloxymethyl-thiamine, called BOM--was able to improve metabolic pathways in patients with long-standing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In this study, 10 children with type 1 diabetes were studied before and after treatment with BOM. In all patients, blood glucose levels and the daily dose of insulin per kilogram of body weight were significantly lower when diets were supplemented with BOM.
The Influence of Thiamine and Glucose on Circadian Rhythms
An article in the August 2007 issue of "Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology" investigated the regulation of glucose and thiamine on circadian rhythms--the internal clock--in mammals. The circadian clock controls food processing and energy homeostasis by modifying the expression and action of enzymes involved in cholesterol, amino acid, lipid, glycogen and glucose metabolism. Additionally, many hormones involved in metabolism, such as insulin and glucagon, are under circadian control. Disruption of circadian rhythms is involved in the advance of cancer, metabolic disorders and obesity. Food metabolism, and metabolism of several nutrients, such as glucose and thiamine, can shift circadian rhythms leading to the onset of these life-threatening conditions.
References
- "Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrion"; Effect of inulin and oligofructose enrichment of the diet on rats suffering thiamine deficiency; B. Debski et al.; September 2010.
- "Acta Diabetologica"; Effects of thiamine and benfotiamine on intracellular glucose metabolism and relevance in the prevention of diabetic complications; E. Beltramo et al.; September 2008.
- "Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology"; The relationship between nutrition and circadian rhythms in mammals; O. Froy; August 2007.
- "Annals of Vascular Surgery";Thiamine (vitamin B1) improves endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in the presence of hyperglycemia; S. Arora et al.; September 2006.
- "Acta Diabetologica"; Lipophilic thiamine treatment in long-standing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; G. Valerio; June 1999.
