09/09/2026
A clinical pilot study published in Neuro Endocrinology Letters investigated thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD), a derivative of thiamine (vitamin B1), in 10 autistic children.
The researchers gave each child 50 mg of TTFD twice daily for two months, administered as re**al suppositories. Autism-related symptoms were monitored using the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC).
At the end of the study, the researchers reported that 8 out of 10 children showed clinical improvement. They also tested thiamine status and found evidence of intracellular thiamine deficiency in 3 of the 10 children at the start of the study.
The study also investigated urinary metals and other biochemical markers. Six children initially had urinary arsenic concentrations above those of healthy controls, and traces of mercury were detected in all 10 children, although these findings do not establish that metals caused their autism.