mostlylurking
Member
Thiamine is required to clear serotonin from the brain. Lead binds with thiamine, making the thiamine unavailable (causes thiamine deficiency) so the brain serotonin cannot be cleared. The chemical bond of the lead to the thiamine also inactivates the lead, making it inert(?), less toxic at least. The symptoms of lead poisoning exactly match the symptoms of thiamine deficiency and thiamine supplementation resolves the symptoms of lead poisoning.(Interesting how brain serotonin went up 2x in the lead intoxicated rats, which they associated with the increased anxiety, and also lowered GABA, which both were close to normal baseline in the thiamine group, ~1g human dose used. other human study showed increased lead excretion at 100mg. this also mentions how lead can deplete iron and skew tryptophan levels high, where the other one says correcting thiamine deficiency can prevent iron overload too so helps to balance both ends by the looks of it). did not fully prevent all brain lesions but prevented all severe lesions, and most moderate lesions.
Another wrinkle in this is that thiamine deficiency causes the blood/brain barrier to become compromised so that heavy metals, including iron, can get into the brain and cause problems. Usually this is discussed as a problem in alcoholics who have thiamine deficiency due to the consumption of alcohol. But there are many other causes of thiamine deficiency/functional blockage than drinking alcohol. Heavy metal poisoning is one of them.
Forgive me if there is duplication with the links below and ones previously posted:
Thiamine reduces tissue lead levels in rats: mechanism of interaction - PubMed
Lead (Pb) toxicity has been a serious concern in industrialized societies because of its association with functional deficits in nervous, haematopoietic and renal systems. Several studies have shown beneficial effects of thiamine on Pb toxicity. It is speculated that Pb chelation by thiamine may...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The role of trace elements, thiamin (e) and transketolase in autism and autistic spectrum disorder - PubMed
Although there has been much research into autism or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), there is room for considerable conjecture regarding the etiology of these developmental brain disorders. ASD is marked by a complex interaction between environmental factors and genetic predisposition...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Effect of thiamine deficiency on brain serotonin turnover - PubMed
Serotonin turnover has been investigated in regional brain areas of rats made thiamine deficient by pyrithiamine (PT). Following intracisternal injection of [14C]5-hydroxytryptamine ([14C]5-HT), a marked increase in the accumulation of [14C]5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid ([14C]5-HIAA) was found in...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Alterations in serotonin parameters in brain of thiamine-deficient rats are evident prior to the appearance of neurological symptoms - PubMed
Biochemical alterations of serotoninergic parameters have been demonstrated in experimental thiamine deficiency. In addition, hypophagia and hypothermia, two physiological processes associated with changes in the serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] system, are manifest early during the...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov