The recommended treatment for severe deficiency consists of 25–30 mg intravenously in infants and 50–100 mg in adults, then 10 mg daily administered intramuscularly for approximately one week, followed by 3–5 mg/day oral thiamin for at least 6 weeks.
Taking thiamine will start increasing your body's levels of vitamin B1 within a few hours. However, if you're taking it to treat vitamin B1 deficiency, it may take a few weeks before you start to feel better. It's important to keep taking your thiamine for as long as the doctor tells you to.
Giving them thiamin supplements first can prevent Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome from developing or worsening. With treatment, most people recover completely. In some people with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, some brain damage is permanent.
Thiamine is also needed for the body to process fats and proteins, but it is essential for processing carbohydrates like sugars and starches. A thiamin deficiency can result in several health problems including confusion, seizures, shortness of breath, brain disease, coma, and more.
Although deficiency has been thought of as rare, our refined western diet that is high in sugar, caffeine and sometimes alcohol, can lead to a thiamine deficiency. Add on to that common medications such as lasix, metformin and pepcid, and the risk for deficiency goes up.
Thiamin deficiency can cause loss of weight and appetite, confusion, memory loss, muscle weakness, and heart problems. Severe thiamin deficiency leads to a disease called beriberi with the added symptoms of tingling and numbness in the feet and hands, loss of muscle, and poor reflexes.
Symptoms consistent with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome may persist for several months or may be permanent. Other symptoms of thiamine deficiency such as anorexia and irritability are expected to improve gradually.
A deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine) can cause a potentially fatal brain disorder called Wernicke encephalopathy. Symptoms can include confusion, hallucinations, coma, loss of muscle coordination, and vision problems such as double vision and involuntary eye movements.
Thiamine deficiency is particularly important because it can exacerbate many of the other processes by which alcohol induces brain injury, as described in other articles in this issue of Alcohol Research & Health.
Thiamine should be continued for as long as malnutrition is present and/or during periods of continued alcohol consumption. Following successful alcohol withdrawal, thiamine should be continued for 6 weeks.
Up to 80% of people with an addiction to alcohol develop thiamine deficiency. Heavy alcohol use causes inflammation of the stomach lining and digestive tract, which reduces the body's ability to absorb vitamins.
thiamine is essential for energy metabolism. important for nerve function and neurotransmitter synthesis. deficiencies of thiamine can impair these nerve functions not only in the brain (brain fog) but also in the gut.
The recommended treatment for severe deficiency consists of 25–30 mg intravenously in infants and 50–100 mg in adults, then 10 mg daily administered intramuscularly for approximately one week, followed by 3–5 mg/day oral thiamin for at least 6 weeks.
In patients at low risk (with uncomplicated alcohol dependence), oral thiamine 250-500mg/day should be given for 3-5 days, followed by oral thiamine 100-250mg/day.
Risk factors for thiamine deficiency
Infants are particularly vulnerable to the effects of thiamine deficiency in the first months of life, and exclusively breastfed infants of thiamine‐deficient mothers are at highest risk.
Chronic thiamine deficiency is not curable and can result in a particular type of brain syndrome called Korsakoff's psychosis.
Heavy consumption of tannin-containing or food rich in caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline (such as those present in coffee, chocolate, and tea, respectively) can inactivate thiamine, thereby compromising the thiamine status (7, 14, 15).
The most severe, potentially fatal disease caused by thiamine deficiency is the neurological disorder Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. This can be difficult to diagnose and many cases remain undiagnosed.
Thiamine is mostly concentrated in the skeletal muscles. Other organs in which it is found are the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys.
Vitamin B1(thiamin) and mental health. Mental health problems such as memory loss, anxiety, depression, irritability, and insomnia are also associated with deficiencies in vitamin B1.
We should bear in mind that patients with marginal thiamine deficiency in the context of alcohol dependency may present with severe peripheral and central edema with associated significant weight gain.
Brain regions affected by thiamine deficiency include the cerebellum, mamillary bodies, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brain stem. Although WKS in developed countries occurs most commonly among alcoholics, other groups of patients are also at risk of developing the disease.
Taking vitamin B1 supplements along with an antidepressant is good for depression. Vitamin B1 helps ease symptoms faster while stabilizing your mood. Lack of vitamin B1 has also been linked to low moods.