Thiamine and Cocarboxylase Concentration

In patients with congestive heart failure, thiamine deficiency has been demonstrated by the test-dose method (1, 2), by measurement of the lactate-pyruvate ratio of the blood (3), and by determination of blood cocarboxylase (4). The oxidation of pyruvate to acetate requires thiamine in the form of cocarboxylase (thiamine pyrophosphate). Olson, Pearson, Miller, and Stare have shown that thiamine deficiency in experimental animals (rats and ducks) resulted in a decrease in the ability of cardiac muscle slices to oxidize pyruvate (5). The present investigation was thus undertaken to determine the thiamine and cocarboxylase content of cardiac muscle in patients with heart failure as compared with that of non-cardiac patients. To our knowledge no data are available on this point in the literature.