Mental Health

Vitamin B1 May Help Fight Alzheimer’s Disease

By Joie M Gahum | Update Date: Feb 03, 2017 07:30 AM EST

Insufficient supply of thiamine, or popularly known as vitamin B1, can lead to forgetfulness. Long-term thiamine deficiency, on the other hand, may lead to more serious consequences like Alzheimer's disease.

In an article from Independent UK, Alzheimer's patients were discovered to have extremely low thiamine levels. However, tests are being conducted to identify if taking thiamine derivatives can help in reducing the occurrence of the disease. Evidence of an abundant supply of thiamine in the brain has been proven to keep the brain healthy.

Thiamine is a naturally occurring vitamin that is available in whole grains, peas, beans, trout, and pork. In the UK, the government is considering a future with decreased Alzheimer's recurrences due to a population that is surveyed to be taking thiamine sufficiently.

However, this research sample does not include people with the vulnerability to thiamine deficiencies. These include gluten-intolerant people, the elderly and Paleo diet enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, in other reports, associated memory loss can be pathologically altered by introducing a molecular mechanism that will trigger associative memory encoded in the brain's hippocampus. Doing so allows that memory to be processed and stored, Science Daily reveals.

A protein called CRTC1, when disrupted, can lead to Alzheimer's. Restoring this protein using gene therapy introduces copies of the CRTC1 in a group of neurons at the hippocampus region of a mouse test subject. The mouse who underwent the experiment remembered negative experiences they had in the past after suffering from memory deficits prior to the experiment.

Results of this study indicate that memory loss can be reversed through the activation of specific neurons of the hippocampus most especially during the early stages of the degeneration of the neurons in the brain. The results also promise and exciting potential in treating and addressing memory disorders. The molecular mechanism could also be further exploited to target other memory loss diseases such as dementia.

A sufficient intake of thiamine in the brain does not guarantee a future free from Alzheimer's disease. However, with several studies providing insights on how a thiamine healthy brain decreases the risk of neurodegeneration, including a healthy intake of thiamine into one's diet is a safe precaution against the disease.

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