Thiamine and Neuropsychiatry

Abstract

Thiamine (C12H17N4OS) or vitamin B1, a sulfurcontaining vitamin, is a vitamin of the family ‘B complex’. An essential nutrients, not synthesized within human body, exclusively has to replaced by dietary source to maintain optimal functioning of the central and peripheral nervous system as thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) is an important coenzyme in the catabolism of sugars and amino acids. Subacute or chronic deficiencies due to many reasons were evidenced to cause various neuropsychiatric disorders from peripheral neuropathy, beriberi, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, Korsakoff’s syndrome to metabolic coma and death. As early deficiency conditions are reversible with thiamine replacement, the preventable and potentially treatable nature of these disorders makes this an important subject.