The case for Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) and Parkinson’s

There is an Italian doctor, Antonio Costanini, who treats Parkinson’s patients with high doses of Vitamin B1 (Thiamin). He first published a report about his results in 2013: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3762356/

There are interesting Before/After Patient videos (in Italian, but some have subtitles)…a few are embedded below, more are available at:
http://www.ultimaedizione.eu/video-parkinson-pazienti-prima-e-dopo-il-trattamento/

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

News article (in rough English): http://www.ultimaedizione.eu/costantini-the-secret-lies-in-a-massive-dosage-of-thiamine-parkinson-suffers-a-terrible-strik/

Neurotalk Discussion Thread about Dr. Costanini’s treatment : http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=218257

Related thread on Neurotalk with more research links : http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=215273

Follow up small study : http://www.nrronline.org/text.asp?2016/11/3/406/179047

A Vietnamese American study also published a similar case study : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/cns.12078/asset/cns12078.pdf

Other related publications:

Benefits of Thiamin (Vitamin B1) Administration in Neurodegenerative Diseases may be Due to Both the Coenzyme and Non-coenzyme Roles of Thiamin – Victoria I Bunik : http://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/benefits-of-thiamin-vitamin-b-administration-in-neurodegenerative-diseases-may-be-due-to-both-the-coenzyme-and-noncoenzyme-roles-of-thiamin-2161-0460.1000173.php?aid=34970

My Thoughts

All said, I tend to be skeptical of these types of videos. Years ago, Dr. David Perlmutter was big on Glutathione IVs, and made a number of similar before/after videos. To prove his results Perlmutter collaborated on a randomized, double-blind study of Glutathione IVs for Parkinson’s. However, the study results concluded with “We did not observe a significant improvement in parkinsonian signs and symptoms in the glutathione group when compared with the placebo group.”

These videos obviously require a controlled study to be validated or disproven.

However, while I am skeptical of this Vitamin B1 miracle, I do expect that there is some truth to it. In my own PD journey, I believe that B Complex Vitamins have helped me. In particular, after I converted from a standard B-100 complex blend to a methylized blend (P5P for B6, Metafolin/L-5MTHF for B9/Folate, Methylcobalamin for B12) because of my MTHFR genes, I felt more energy and stamina for workouts.

B1 Thiamin is part of the B complex vitamin that I take, but I also have been taking additional dosage of B1 Thiamin, which I believe has helped improve my metabolism and energy.

Dr. Costanini’s Vitamin B1 injections contain a large dose of B1, but also include lesser, but significant, amounts of other B vitamins. (Last year, I watched a video of a colleague of his presenting at a conference where he described what cofactors were in the injection, but I am unable to locate the video at present.) These other B vitamins may be significant if his results can be validated.

B Vitamins are generally safe, but you should always discuss supplements wth your doctor. In particular,  be aware that large amounts folate may interfere with levodopa absorption. Nutritionist Kathryn Holden has published a great write-up on Vitamins B6, B9 & B12 and Parkinson’s at http://forum.parkinson.org/index.php?/topic/19008-parkinsons-b6-b12-and-folate-whats-the-connection/.

As for B1, maybe Dr. Costanini is on the right path.

Comments?

Visit the community version of this post at http://forum.parkinson.fit/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11