Thiamin and Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Two sets of observations prompted a systematic study of thiamin dependent processes in brain from patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). The first was the dramatic reduction of the activity of one of the thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) dependent enzymes, namely the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), in DAT brain obtained at autopsy [1-3]. The second was the loss of cholinergic cells of the rostral part of the reticular activating formation in the brains of patients with a thiamin-deficiency syndrome, namely the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome [4]. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and DAT [5] are clearly distinguishable clinically, neuropsychologically, and pathologically. On the other hand, there are areas of clinical, neuropsychological, and neuropathological overlap [5]. The recognition of these overlaps led to a systematic examination of TPP-dependent enzymes in DAT [5,6]. © 1992, Center for Academic Publications Japan. All rights reserved.