| August
24, 2007
Thiamine Deficiency in Diabetics Tied to Vascular
Disease
By David Douglas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 24 - Increased clearance of thiamine
in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients leads to deficiency of
the vitamin, and this is reflected in levels of a marker of endothelial
dysfunction, UK researchers report in the August 4th issue of
Diabetologia.
"Thiamine deficiency in diabetes has been overlooked,"
lead investigator Dr. Paul Thornalley told Reuters Health, "because
it is not detected by the conventional assay of thiamine levels.
The deficiency is not linked to diet, but rather an increased
rate of loss of the vitamin from the body."
Dr. Thornalley and colleagues at the University of Warwick came
to this conclusion after studying 26 type 1 diabetics and 48 type
2 diabetics, with and without microalbuminuria, as well as 20
healthy controls.
Compared to controls, plasma thiamine concentration was decreased
76% in type 1 diabetics and 75% in type 2 diabetics. Renal clearance
was increased 24-fold in type 1 diabetics and by 16-fold in type
2 diabetics.
The team also established that plasma thiamine concentration
correlated negatively with urinary excretion of thiamine and plasma
levels of soluble vascular adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), "a
marker of endothelial dysfunction and increased risk of atherosclerosis."
They also point out that the conventional indicator of thiamine
sufficiency, erythrocyte transketolase activity, is masked in
diabetes by increased levels of thiamine transporter proteins.
"These new findings," continued Dr. Thornalley, "suggest
there is a link between thiamine deficiency and vascular complications
of diabetes."
"Clinical trials of thiamine supplements to reverse early
stage vascular disease are ongoing," he concluded, "and
will reveal if there is benefit of diabetic patients taking thiamine
supplements."
Diabetologia 2007.
Source: www.medscape.com
Comments:
This study again is evidence of the importance of cellular
micronutrients for cardiovascular health. In this study
the researchers have shown that there is deficiency of the
thiamine in both Type1 and Type 2 Diabetes due to increased
clearance of thiamine in the body. Deficiency of thiamine
is associated with vascular complications. There are ongoing
clinical trials with thiamine supplements to reverse early
stage vascular disease.
The study mentioned above has focused on only one nutrient
thiamine.
Dr. Rath has shown the root cause of atherosclerosis and
also the
effectiveness of the nutrient synergy approach in balancing
metabolic
pathways in the body. In his extensive research and clinical
studies, Dr.
Rath showed that chronic deficiencies of essential cellular
nutrients like
especially vitamin C, amino acid lysine, proline and others,
results in
arterial wall damage leading to atherosclerosis. Diabetes
significantly
increases the chance of developing atherosclerotic deposits,
and increases the risk of heart attack. Supplementation
with synergistically combined essential nutrients especially
with vitamin C, amino acids lysine, proline and other essential
cellular nutrients, help in the repair of the arterial wall
structure and in the reversal of the atherosclerotic deposits.
According to Dr. Rath's research, vitamin C that works in
synergy with other cellular nutrients is essential in regulating
blood sugar levels in diabetics. Please refer to Dr. Rath's
publication "Why animals don't get heart attacks...but
people do!" and our research web site drrathresearch.org
and cellularhealthtraining.org
for more details of the clinical studies in heart disease
and diabetes. |
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