Answer to Question 1
Dry beriberi: found mostly in adults; signs and symptoms include severe muscle wasting, leg cramps, tenderness, and decreased feeling in the feet and toes. Wet beriberi: signs and symptoms involve severe edema (swelling) in the arms and legs, enlargement of the heart, and respiratory problems. Infantile beriberi: occurs in babies breastfed by thiamin-deficient mothers; can cause cardiac arrest. Cerebral beriberi or Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome: associated with alcoholism (and for some people a genetic predisposition) due to the fact that alcohol decreases absorption of thiamin; characterized by eye muscle paralysis, involuntary eye movement, poor muscle coordination, confusion, and short-term memory loss.
Answer to Question 2
Its coenzyme form TPP (made from thiamin in the liver) is required for your body to make ATP. TPP activates the enzyme needed to convert pyruvate to acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) in all the cells in your body. Consuming enough thiamin is critical to having enough energy for daily activities. TPP is also a mandatory component of an enzyme required in the citric acid cycle and another enzyme that allows amino acids to enter the citric acid cycle.