THIAMINE PYROPHOSPHATE EFFECT AND ERYTHROCYTE TRANSKETOLASE ACTIVITY DURING SEVERE ALCOHOL-WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME

The thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) effect and erythrocyte transketolase activity (ETKA) in a group of 28 patients admitted to a psychiatric em ergency ward because of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome were compar ed with the TPP effect and ETKA in a control group of 20 healthy nonal coholic volunteers. The patients were treated with 300 mg thiamine 3 t imes daily as intramuscular injections, and the TPP effect and ETKA we re measured after 1 and 4 days of treatment. No difference was found b etween the patient group and the control group with regard to the TPP effect and ETKA and no decline in the TPP effect was found in the pati ent group after 4 days of intensive treatment with thiamine. ETKA incr eased with intensive thiamine treatment, which suggests that ETKA is a sensitive indicator of thiamine deficiency. Serum magnesium, which is a cofactor for thiamine pyrophosphate, decreased significantly with t he disappearance of alcohol from the blood in patients with high initi al blood alcohol levels, but this shift did not interfere with biologi cal thiamine activity.