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Thiamine for Alzheimer's disease
J L Rodríguez-Martín1, J M López-Arrieta, N Qizilbash
1Departamento de Psicobiología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, PO Box 60148, Madrid, Spain, 28040. jrodriguez@meridian.es
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|May 5, 2000
Summary
This review found no evidence that vitamin B1 (thiamine) benefits Alzheimer's disease symptoms. Data suggest thiamine may be worse than placebo, and it cannot be recommended for patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Nutritional Neuroscience
Background:
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is crucial for preventing Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a neurological condition linked to chronic alcoholism.
- While thiamine deficiency causes severe amnesia, its potential benefits for Alzheimer's disease remain under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the available evidence on the efficacy of thiamine supplementation for treating Alzheimer's disease.
Main Methods:
- A systematic search of the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and CDCIG Register was conducted using terms related to thiamine and Alzheimer's disease.
- Included were unconfounded, double-blind, randomized trials comparing thiamine to placebo in Alzheimer's disease patients for over one day.
- Data extraction and analysis were performed independently by two reviewers, with results pooled where possible.
Main Results:
- Limited data were available, showing thiamine's effect was inconclusive, potentially harmful, or showed no change.
- Cognitive assessments indicated thiamine was non-significantly worse than placebo on the Mini Mental State Examination at 12 months.
- Placebo demonstrated significantly better outcomes than thiamine beyond three months in change-from-baseline analyses.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence does not support thiamine as an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease symptoms.
- The scarcity and poor quality of data make definitive conclusions difficult.
- Thiamine is not recommended for individuals with Alzheimer's disease due to lack of proven benefit.