Abstract
Wernicke's encephalopathy is an acute, potentially fatal, neuropsychiatric syndrome resulting from thiamine deficiency. The disorder is still greatly under-diagnosed, and failure to promptly identify and adequately treat the condition can lead to death or to the chronic form of the encephalopathy - Korsakoff's syndrome. Wernicke's encephalopathy has traditionally been associated with alcoholism but, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of clinical settings in which the disorder is observed. We report the case of a 45-year-old Caucasian woman who arrived at the emergency room presenting signs of marked malnutrition and mental confusion, ataxic gait and ophthalmoplegia. Main laboratory test findings included low serum magnesium and megaloblastic anemia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed increased T2 signal in the supratentorial paraventricular region, the medial regions of the thalamus and the central and periaqueductal midbrain. The diagnosis of Wernicke's encephalopathy was made at once and immediate reposition of thiamine and magnesium was started. The patient had a long history of recurrent thoughts of being overweight, severe self-imposed diet restrictions and self-induced vomiting. She had also ...Continue Reading
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