Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome
Combined presence of Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) and Korsakoff's syndrome / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) is the combined presence of Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) and alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome (AKS [clarification needed]). Due to the close relationship between these two disorders, people with either are usually diagnosed with WKS as a single syndrome. It mainly causes vision changes, ataxia and impaired memory.[2]
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome | |
---|---|
Other names | Korsakoff's psychosis, cerebral beriberi,[1] alcoholic encephalopathy,[2] "wet brain"[3] |
Thiamine | |
Specialty | Psychiatry, neurology |
The cause of the disorder is thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. This can occur due to Wernicke encephalopathy, eating disorders, malnutrition, and alcohol abuse. These disorders may manifest together or separately. WKS is usually secondary to prolonged alcohol abuse.
Wernicke encephalopathy and WKS are most commonly seen in people with an alcohol use disorder. Failure in diagnosis of WE and thus treatment of the disease leads to death in approximately 20% of cases, while 75% are left with permanent brain damage associated with WKS.[4] Of those affected, 25% require long-term institutionalization in order to receive effective care.[4][5]