Biomaterial Database

Clinical and subclinical thiamine deficiency in clinical practice. 1985

M W Carney, and S Barry

Six patients with gross thiamine deficiency found during normal psychiatric practice in England are described. Two surveys of newly admitted psychiatric patients are recounted. A major degree of biochemical deficiency, with or without minimal clinical manifestations, was found. Only three (1%) of 326 patients surveyed had gross clinical deficiency. It is thought that severe thiamine deficiency, though rare in the Western countries, has not been eradicated. Deficiency may cause psychiatric conditions like Wernicke's encephalopathy or may be a secondary feature in mental illness due to anorexia, in reduced food intake, and in poor nutrition. The importance of being aware of the possibility for correct diagnosis is emphasised.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368	Aged	A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available.	Elderly
D000437	Alcoholism	A primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic. (Morse & Flavin for the Joint Commission of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine to Study the Definition and Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alcoholism: in JAMA 1992;268:1012-4)	Alcohol Abuse,Alcoholic Intoxication, Chronic,Ethanol Abuse,Alcohol Addiction,Alcohol Dependence,Alcohol Use Disorder,Abuse, Alcohol,Abuse, Ethanol,Addiction, Alcohol,Alcohol Use Disorders,Chronic Alcoholic Intoxication,Dependence, Alcohol,Intoxication, Chronic Alcoholic,Use Disorders, Alcohol
D001602	Beriberi	A disease caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1) and characterized by polyneuritis, cardiac pathology, and edema. The epidemic form is found primarily in areas in which white (polished) rice is the staple food, as in Japan, China, the Philippines, India, and other countries of southeast Asia. (Dorland, 27th ed)
D013832	Thiamine Deficiency	A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of THIAMINE in the diet, characterized by anorexia, irritability, and weight loss. Later, patients experience weakness, peripheral neuropathy, headache, and tachycardia. In addition to being caused by a poor diet, thiamine deficiency in the United States most commonly occurs as a result of alcoholism, since ethanol interferes with thiamine absorption. In countries relying on polished rice as a dietary staple, BERIBERI prevalence is very high. (From Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 19th ed, p1171)	Deficiency, Thiamine,Deficiencies, Thiamine,Thiamine Deficiencies
D014899	Wernicke Encephalopathy	An acute neurological disorder characterized by the triad of ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and disturbances of mental activity or consciousness. Eye movement abnormalities include nystagmus, external rectus palsies, and reduced conjugate gaze. THIAMINE DEFICIENCY and chronic ALCOHOLISM are associated conditions. Pathologic features include periventricular petechial hemorrhages and neuropil breakdown in the diencephalon and brainstem. Chronic thiamine deficiency may lead to KORSAKOFF SYNDROME. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1139-42; Davis & Robertson, Textbook of Neuropathology, 2nd ed, pp452-3)	Beriberi, Cerebral,Encephalopathy, Wernicke,Encephalopathy, Gayet-Wernicke,Encephalopathy, Wernicke's,Gayet-Wernicke Encephalopathy,Wernicke Disease,Wernicke Polioencephalitis, Superior Hemorrhagic,Wernicke Superior Hemorrhagic Polioencephalitis,Wernicke Syndrome,Wernicke's Disease,Wernicke's Encephalopathy,Wernicke's Polioencephalitis, Superior Hemorrhagic,Wernicke's Superior Hemorrhagic Polioencephalitis,Wernicke's Syndrome,Cerebral Beriberi,Encephalopathies, Wernicke,Encephalopathy, Gayet Wernicke,Encephalopathy, Wernickes,Gayet Wernicke Encephalopathy,Wernicke Encephalopathies