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Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome: A Common Yet Elusive Diagnosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

N. Madeira ,
T. Santos  and
J.L. Pio-Abreu
N. Madeira
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Clinic, Coimbra University Hospital, Coimbra, Portugal
T. Santos
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Aveiro District Hospital, Aveiro, Portugal
J.L. Pio-Abreu
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Clinic, Coimbra University Hospital, Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract

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In 1897, Murawieff proposed that a common cause was responsible for the two syndromes previously described by Carl Wernicke and Sergei Korsakoff. More than 100 years afterwards, the neuropsychiatric nosological entity known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome remains one of the most significant, yet under-recognized, consequences of long-term alcohol abuse.

Prompt recognition and treatment of Wernicke's encephalopathy with parenteral thiamine can prevent permanent cognitive impairment, involving severe short-term memory loss - Korsakoff's amnesic syndrome. Such condition has devastating consequences for patients, not infrequently demanding long-term institutionalization.

Based on two clinical vignettes, the authors review some epidemiological, clinical and neuropathological features of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, besides issues concerning differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

Type
P02-172
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 24 , Issue S1: 17th EPA Congress - Lisbon, Portugal, January 2009, Abstract book , January 2009 , 24-E862
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2009
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