Concept of the noncoenzymatic thiamine effect

The experimental and clinical data on different aspects of vitamin and hormone relationships have been summarized in the form of a general concept of the noncoenzymatic thiamine effect, on the basis of a number of premises: (1) discovery of tissue factors limiting the manifestation of the specific activity of administered thiamine (the presence of a tissue buffer depot of easily accessible coenzymes, and lack of free apoenzymes); (2) evidence of a thiamine effect on the pancreatic insulin-synthesizing function; (3) stimulation of metabolic thiamine effects, including the effects of insulin administration on thiamine-dependent enzymes; (4) determination of the features of hormonal control of thiamine metabolism in the body; (5) confirmation of the predictive force of the concept by clinical trials of the new strategy of thiamine therapy.