Abstract
Abstract—The brain lipid composition of 25‐day‐old offspring of rats exposed to dietary thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency from the 14th day of gestation was examined and compared to normal and pair‐fed (undernourished) controls. Thiamine‐deprived rats displayed neurological signs and a marked diminution of growth at 25 days of age. No changes in brain lipids of either whole brain or selected brain areas (brain stem, cerebellum, diencephalon) which were distinct from the effects of undernutrition (pair‐fed controls) were observed in the thiamine‐deficient group. Undernutrition, as exemplified by the pair‐fed control group produced a highly significant depression of all lipids expressed per total brain and a significant deficit of whole brain and regional lipid, cerebroside and cholesterol concentrations indicating a deficiency in myelinogenesis. Ganglioside NeuNAc concentration was shown to be significantly greater in whole brain and certain brain areas of the same group while no changes were evident in total phospholipid concentration and the distribution of individual phospholipids. The implications of these findings in terms of the pathophysiology of thiamine‐deficiency encephalopathy and undernutrition in early life are discussed.
Published Version
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