thiamine and glutathione

[Guest guest]

Hello Rich, MarkM and All,

I posted recently about what the connection might be between thiamine

and glutathione. I couldn't find any research into thiamine and

ME/CFS, contacted the woman in Australia who was cured with thiamine

injections and found that neither has she found any despite the fact

that on her web site she asks people to contact her if they know of

any studies. (Her web page: http://www.geocities.com/bron.evans/

Thank you MarkM for alerting us to her.)

I have, though, found evidence that thiamine is necessary to make

glutathione. A paper here:

http://arpa.allenpress.com/arpaonline/?request=get-document & doi=10.1043%2F1543-2\

165(2006)130%5Be8:AYWWID%5D2.0.CO%3B2

(about an alcoholic) says:

…..In addition, thiamine is also involved in the generation of

glutathione, an antioxidant, which is needed to counteract the highly

reactive free radicals. In the relative absence of thiamine and,

hence, glutathione supply, cells can malfunction because of excessive

oxidative stress leading to premature death.9 Thus, chronic or

episodic TD may hypothetically lead to continual myocardial apoptosis

or bursts of myocardial apoptosis, resulting in cardiomyopathy in the

long term.

And another ( sorry haven't got the URL) refers to an *immediate

connection*:

[interrelationship between the thiamine content, thiamine

diphosphate-dependent enzyme activity and reduced glutathione level in

the rat liver]

[Article in Russian]

Parkhomenko IuM, Chernysh IIu, Protasova ZS, Donchenko GV.

Changes in the amount of thiamine, reduced glutathione, thiamine

diphosphate-dependent dehydrogenase activity has been traced after

thiamine injection to thiamine-deficient rats and oxythiamine to

normal rats. The obtained data show that a drop in reduced glutathione

level was a primary reason of the alpha-keto-acid dehydrogenase

activity reduction under conditions of the thiamine deficiency. The

existence of immediate connection between thiamine and glutathione

metabolism is supposed.

PMID: 2087793 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I have done my best to study the biochemistry and my (limited)

understanding is that thiamine is necessary for the function of

enzymes (eg. Transketolase) that are used in the Kreb's cycle to

eventually produce NADPH which is needed to restore GSSG to GSH.

So, what does that say about glutathione depletion in ME/CFS?

Thiamine is obviously only one of many substances involved in the

Krebs cycle so perhaps the link is rather indirect and other factors

are involved but it sounds as if it might be worth getting tested for

thiamine deficiency (in the UK test available from www.biolab.co.uk )

and then maybe having injections. The Australian woman, Bronwyn, had

100mg/day for 4 years and is now well and does not need to have any

more . My doctor says that it is absorbable orally but Bronwyn says

that we can only absorb 15mg that way. Perhaps PWC need very large

amounts but alcoholics, with whom my doctor uses it, need only 15mg or

less. I like the fact that it would be, like glutathione-building, a

treatment that involves taking something benign.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Best wishes