Last month, I was helping a client, as I researched a medical concern they were having, I was reminded of Dr. Derrick Lonsdale’s work on thiamine. I was first made aware of his work by an astute geneticist in Arkansas and which has had profound effects on our own family’s health (you can learn more about that journey here). As I did a quick google search for Dr. Lonsdale research that I was looking for… my heart broke when I saw his obituary come up as one of the top links. On May 2, 2024 just 10 days after his 100th birthday, Dr. Lonsdale passed away. It is my hope that his legacy lives on and that one day I will meet up with him again. As a tribute to his legacy, I would love to share a few of my memories of Dr. Lonsdale and some of his research, in hopes it will help others find answers and restored health.
The Thiamine Connection
We first heard about thiamine after our daughter received a transketolase blood test in 2013 showing a need for thiamine supplementation. As I learned more and more about thiamine and read paper after paper (and about 200 more on Pubmed) from Dr. Lonsdale who has published extensively on the topic, I began to read his books (here, here and here). He had a keen interest in autism among other conditions and did published research on this condition demonstrating a link with thiamine. This gentleman was clearly one of the leading experts on this vitamin because as I asked other physicians and researchers about it, I quickly found that no one really knew much about B1 or referred me to reach out to Dr. Lonsdale. I learned that though he was retired, he wrote prolifically for a website call Hormones Matter.
We had moved to Pittsburgh, PA in 2013 and my friend and colleague, Patricia Lemer, shared with me her connection to Dr. Lonsdale from conferences she had attended with him years ago. I asked her if she had talked to him recently, she had not, but was willing to reach out to him to reconnect. Patty connected Dr. Lonsdale and me via email. From our first email exchange, I knew this man had information that I wanted to learn more about, not just for my own family but for other children.
“Dear Kristi, thank you very much for your surprise email. I sincerely believe that mitochondrial disease is actually being acquired from thiamine deficiency because that has been proven in animal studies. I too am frustrated by the fact that this knowledge is not getting out to the general public and it is so easy to rectify.”
After a few back and forth emails with Patty, me, and Dr. Lonsdale in 2015, one cold Saturday in January 2016 the two of us were off on a roadtrip to meet him at his retirement community near Cleveland, Ohio for lunch. My memories of this lunch are so fond, hearing about his background and how he went from oncology to metabolic medicine to studying vitamin B1 were intriguing, along with all of his A-ha moments along the way. In addition to meeting Dr. Lonsdale, I had the pleasure of meeting another mother who was also searching for answers for her daughter (Dr.Lonsdale was our connection and our connector that day).
Here is a photo from that January day in 2016:
After a delicious healthy lunch, we had a personalized lecture from Dr. Lonsdale in his living room, complete with visual aids (the poster-board seen in the photo). Here is a little clip from that day when Dr. Lonsdale presented to the 3 of us his guest lecture on his history with thiamine.
Fast forward to July of 2016 and I reached out to Rd. Lonsdale once again for his wisdom. The county where I live was going to mandate a vaccine for all 11-12 year olds to go to school. This vaccine was one which Dr. Lonsdale had studied adverse reactions to involving thiamine metabolism. I asked if he might summarize his findings so I could share it in my public comments at the board of health hearing. He was gracious enough to do just that. You can read his research comments here. The mandate was defeated in Allegheny County, PA. Parents of 11-12 year olds were free to make their own informed decision whether to vaccinate or not to vaccinate with this particular vaccine.
I Have A Child Who… has Tantrums
Almost 3 years to the day of our first meeting, Patricia Lemer and I went back to Ohio to visit Dr. Lonsdale at his residence in January 2019. This time we asked if we could record an interview with him for a video series Patty and I were compiling called “I Have a Child Who…” You can watch that episode below. Dr. Lonsdale’s email after that visit, still makes me smile.
“Dear Kristi, yes, for me, it was a “red letter” day. I so enjoyed your company and the interview was a “blast”. You are both “special” people and I will look forward to our next meeting. Thank you “in spades”. Derrick”
COVID Arrives
Just a little over a year after that interview, COVID chaos was in full swing in the United States. I corresponded with Dr. Lonsdale over email and we had quite a long back and forth exchange around mid March when the lock-downs began. I had sent him this paper which showed 55 COVID patients with elevated lactate dehydrogenase. His response to me broke my heart:
“Kristi, I am so frustrated I could cry. I know that an injection of 100 mg of thiamine HCl I/M would save a huge number of lives but how can I get it known and who would believe me? Can you offer a solution??”
My response and only solution I could fathom while locked inside my home with my family was to offer we get on a zoom call and I record his thoughts (since I could not see him in person in his assisted living facility due to restrictions). He agreed, so we did just that. We worked through some technology challenges and his struggles with hearing by providing the questions via email so he could answer them when I held up a card with the next question number, but it worked and you can listen to his thoughts captured in March of 2020.
Here is the blog post that was published on Hormones Matter about our journey with thiamine and a link to this recording.
Until We Meet Again
In the months since Dr. Lonsdale has passed away, I received what I can only believe as a God-wink from heaven. Two published research studies provided clues to the importance and the connection of thiamine with Autism (microbiome research) and Mitochondrial disease (dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD) deficiency). Dr. Lonsdale was a trail blazer and undoubtedly knew intuitively about these connections well ahead of his time. My hope is one day the world will catch up to the a-ha moments he had 50+ years ago, sooner rather than later.
Dr. Lonsdale was a gem of a doctor and an upstanding gentleman. Reading through his obituary comments you will see countless patients whose lives he impacted for the better. In getting to know him over the last 8 years or so, the power of his keen observation and curiosity are what struck me the most. “There is nothing more we can do for you” probably were never uttered from this gentleman’s lips to a patient or family because he seemed to never give up looking for answers. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him. It has been a bittersweet trip down memory lane writing this blog post as I read through many emails correspondences over the years. I will cherish them, until we meet again.
Other Tributes to Dr. Lonsdale
If you would like to learn more about Dr. Lonsdale, his life and his legacy, please visit these links from others whom he was honored, loved and respected by-
Dr. Chandler Marrs his co-author and editor of Hormones Matter- Tribute Blog Post Here
Elliot Overton Nutrition expert and Thiamine Researcher- Tribute Video Here
IHCAN Magazine Tribute- Facebook Post Here
