Thiamine, also known as vitamin B-1, helps convert carbohydrates into fuel and aids in fat and alcohol metabolism. Because many foods contain thiamine, deficiency rarely occurs. Alcoholics and people who subsist mostly on foods high in carbohydrates may develop thiamine deficiency. Poor absorption due to chronic diarrhea or increased demand related to fever, strenuous exercise or hyperthyroidism can also cause low thiamine levels. Thiamine deficiency can lead to several disorders, including dry or wet beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
Early Symptoms
Alcoholism is the primary cause of thiamine deficiency in the United States, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. You may not recognize the early symptoms of thiamine deficiency because they're similar to those of many other disorders. Early symptoms include fatigue, difficulty sleeping, irritability, depression, appetite loss and abdominal discomfort.
Dry Beriberi
Thiamine deficiency interferes with carbohydrate digestion, which allows pyruvic acid to build up in the bloodstream, leading to beriberi. Dry beriberi affects the nervous system, including the nerves in the hands and feet. Burning and numbness and tingling in the feet and toes, muscles cramps, calf tenderness, pain in the legs and muscle wasting can occur. You may have weakness in the arms and legs and may have trouble rising from a squatting position. Rapid eye movements called nystagmus, confusion and trouble talking can also occur, along with seizures in severe cases. Nerve damage may disappear with prompt treatment.
Wet Beriberi
The symptoms of wet beriberi include fluid retention that leads to swelling of the legs and fluid in the lungs. You may have trouble breathing, a rapid heartbeat and heart enlargement that leads to heart failure. Beriberi can lead to death, although heart failure may be reversible if caught early enough, according to MedlinePlus.
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome includes Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff's psychosis, two brain disorders that affect mainly alcoholics who develop thiamine deficiency. The syndrome can also occur in other disorders that cause severe malnutrition such as AIDS or stomach cancer. A decrease in blood flow to the brain from degeneration of the nerves to the cerebellum causes confusion, difficulty walking, nystagmus and a tendency to confabulate, or make up stories, to cover a lack of memory of recent events.
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