Beriberi overview
Beriberi Microchapters |
Diagnosis |
---|
Treatment |
Case Studies |
Beriberi overview On the Web |
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Beriberi overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Beriberi is a dietary-deficiency disease caused by a lack of thiamine in the diet. Thiamine, initially named "the anti-beriberi factor" in 1926 was the first B vitamin to be identified and is therefore referred to as vitamin B1. Thiamine is soluble in water and partly soluble in alcohol. It consists of a pyrimidine and a thiazole moiety, both of which are essential for its activity. Thiamine functions in the decarboxylation of α-ketoacids, such as pyruvate α-ketoglutarate, and branched-chain amino acids and thus is a source of energy generation. In addition, thiamine pyrophosphate acts as a coenzyme for a transketolase reaction that mediates the conversion of hexose and pentose phosphates.