Vitamin B1 deficiency found in diabetics

WARWICK , England, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- British researchers have discovered that deficiency of Vitamin B1 may be key to a range of vascular problems for people with diabetes.

Paul Thornalley, of the University of Warwick Medical School, said he has showed conclusively that diabetic patients are Vitamin B1, or thiamine, deficient in blood plasma.

The study, published in Diabetologia, found that thiamine concentration in blood plasma was decreased 76 percent in type 1 diabetic patients and 75 percent in type 2 diabetic patients.

The researchers found that the decreased plasma thiamine concentration was not due to a deficiency of dietary input of thiamine, but due to a profound increased rate of removal of thiamine from the blood into the urine.

The researchers also found that the decreased availability of thiamine in vascular cells in diabetes was linked diabetic complications such as damage to the kidney, retina and nerves in arms and legs. It likely reflects problems in endothelial cells -- cells that line the body’s entire circulatory system -- and increased risk of atherosclerosis -- chronic inflammation in the artery walls.