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People with severe thiamine deficiency, most notoriously alcoholics, often develop neurologic diseases marked by memory problems. Thiamine treatment often reverses the dysfunction. Research also shows that a multivitamin given to women to improve their thiamine status also elevated their mood. A new study done by researchers at the University of Wales in Swansea, the United Kingdom, looked at thiamine's effect on mood when it was supplemented exclusively.

One hundred twenty young women with a mean age of 20.3 took either placebo or 50 mg of thiamine daily for two months. Before-and-after tests assessed their mood, memory and reaction times. Women who took the thiamine supplements reported feeling significantly more clearheaded, composed and energetic. In addition, their reaction times quickened.

Thiamine did not improve memory, possibly because the women weren't thiamine-deficient at baseline. The authors raised the question of whether psychological measures should be considered when setting RDAs.
--Psychopharmacology, 129: 66-71, January 1997.