Thiamine deficiency during pregnancy leads to cerebellar neuronal death in rat offspring: role of voltage-dependent K+ channels.

Oxidative stress, selective neuronal loss, and diminished activity of thiamine-dependent enzymes play a role in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. To further understand the major implications of thiamine deficiency (TD) in neuronal death, we induced TD during pregnancy and evaluated the effects on the offspring. The body and brain weights of pups from thiamine-deficient dams were significantly smaller than normal.