Abstract
Disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism is an indication of thiamine deficiency. It was found that in patients with beri-beri or beri-beri like state the disturbance was most sensibly detected by a carbohydrate metabolic index (CMI), which was calculated from the levels of pyruvate, lactate and sugar in blood under several conditions. To say nothing of the cases of beri-beri, high values of CMI were also observed in beri-beri like cases in which thiamine deficiency was not apparently detected. The result showed that CMI was useful for finding out the latent thiamine deficiency, though the value was not a specific indicator of the deficiency. For the diagnosis of thiamine deficiency, CMI must be used in combination with the Sawada's urinary test, measurement of blood thiamine content and observation of other clinical symptoms.
