by Richard Mann, DPM, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder, Realm Labs®, sole U.S. distributor of the NeuRemedy® line of benfotiamine products for the healthy function of the nerves in the feet and legs*

Thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency is a well-known and well-documented consequence of chronic alcohol consumption. Thiamine, a water-soluble vitamin, is absorbed from the intestines primarily via the actions of thiamine transporter molecules located in the intestinal lining. These transporter molecules have been shown in animal models to be impaired by chronic alcohol exposure. Poor nutrition may be a factor, as well, in thiamine deficiency among alcoholics. Thiamine deficiency results in impaired neuronal functioning that is expressed clinically in the peripheral nervous system as polyneuropathy and in the central nervous system as deficits affecting memory and cognition.

Benfotiamine is a safe, effective, high potency, lipid-soluble form of thiamine. It is absorbed from the intestines via passive diffusion, a process that does not rely on thiamine transporter molecules. As such, benfotiamine is an ideal agent to restore thiamine levels in alcoholics. Not surprisingly, it has been shown in well-constructed scientific studies to both improve the symptoms of alcoholic polyneuropathy and reduce psychiatric stress in severely affected alcoholics.

Clinicians have noted that patients who have been successfully treated with benfotiamine for the symptoms of alcoholic polyneuropathy may claim an improved ability to concentrate.  This is consistent with studies showing that the reversal of thiamine deficiency with benfotiamine in alcoholics may improve peripheral and central neurological function.

Practitioners who treat peripheral neuropathy in alcoholics with benfotiamine should observe their patients for improved cognition as well as deceased neuropathic symptomatology.

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