A Personal Drive Meets Scientific Discovery
Growing up, I witnessed the devastating consequences of diabetes in my own family—heart disease, nerve pain, vision loss, and kidney troubles. These experiences didn’t just tug at my heart; they fueled my scientific drive. I was determined to understand the mechanisms behind these complications and discover ways to prevent them.
During my PhD with Professor Paul Thornalley, I developed AGEomics, a mass spectrometry method that allowed us to see—at the molecular level—how oxidative and sugar-related damage progresses in conditions like diabetes. This technology revealed that even subclinical damage precedes complications, reinforcing the need for early, precise interventions.
Enter Thiamine—An Overlooked Protector of Kidney Health
My papers on diabetes-thiamine story published from 2003 -2009. In 2011 review paper in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, titled “Emerging role of thiamine therapy for prevention and treatment of early-stage diabetic nephropathy,” highlights compelling evidence that high-dose thiamine may prevent or even reverse early renal damage in diabetes PubMed.
Why thiamine? In diabetes, thiamine metabolism is disrupted—our kidneys clear it too quickly, leading to localized deficiency in tissues such as the kidney. This deficiency impairs transketolase, a thiamine-dependent enzyme essential for detoxifying damaging glucose metabolites via the pentose phosphate pathway. Without enough thiamine, those harmful metabolites accumulate, feeding the cycle of oxidative, dicarbonyl (sugar) and inflammatory damage.
Scientific Proof: Animals and Humans
In experimental studies with diabetic rats, high-dose thiamine prevented the development of early nephropathy. The results were stunning—microalbuminuria (an early marker of kidney damage) was significantly prevented in rats receiving thiamine ResearchGateEurope PMC.
Encouragingly, these findings we translated into early clinical promise. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial in Type 2 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria—conducted in Lahore, Pakistan—revealed that 300 mg of thiamine daily for three months produced a notable regression of urinary albumin excretion, whereas placebo showed no effect PubMed.
What This Means for You—and for the Future
- Biochemistry in Action
Thiamine acts on the root of the problem—metabolic byproducts of hyperglycemia—not just on symptoms. By supporting transketolase, it helps divert damaging intermediates into safer pathways. - Early Intervention Matters
This is not a late-stage, high-risk medication. Thiamine is inexpensive, well-tolerated, and proven to reverse early indicators of kidney damage before nephropathy becomes entrenched. - Next Steps: Clinical Trials & Broader Use
While these results are promising, larger and longer-duration trials are needed to confirm thiamine’s effectiveness and establish dosing guidelines.
My Coaching Advice to You
- Be proactive: If you have prediabetes or early diabetic markers, talk to your healthcare provider about monitoring urinary albumin—it’s one of the earliest indications of kidney stress.
- Consider nutritional support: Thiamine isn’t a replacement for medical management, but it may be a valuable adjunct—especially given its safety profile and mechanistic rationale.
- Stay informed: Science evolves. A further trial in India has validated thiamine’s benefits, I believe it could become a low-cost, globally accessible tool to slow or prevent diabetic kidney disease.
Final Thoughts
My scientific journey—from watching my family suffer, to developing AGEomics to understand molecular mechanisms of disease and disorders, to publishing this paper—has always been driven by a single mission: to find ways to protect people from the silent, creeping damage of diabetes.
Thiamine, an unassuming vitamin, may be a very powerful ally in that mission. I invite you to stay engaged, ask questions, and always seek out science-informed tools that support metabolic health.
Together, we can shift the focus from treating complications to preventing them.