CNS nontumor
Toxic and metabolic disorders
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Author: Kymberly A. Gyure, M.D.
Topic Completed: 1 August 2015
Minor changes: 13 September 2021
Copyright: 2002-2021, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome [title]
Table of Contents
General and terminology | Epidemiology | Sites | Etiology | Clinical features | Diagnosis | Laboratory | Radiology description | Radiology images | Prognostic factors | Case reports | Treatment | Gross description | Gross images | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Differential diagnosis | Additional referencesCite this page: Gyure K.A. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/cnswernickekorsakoff.html. Accessed October 16th, 2021.
General and terminology
- Wernicke encephalopathy: neuropsychiatric syndrome resulting from thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency
- Korsakoff syndrome: a disproportionate impairment in memory relative to other features of cognition secondary to thiamine deficiency that usually follows or accompanies Wernicke encephalopathy
Epidemiology
- Prevalence of approximately 1 - 3% in autopsy studies
- Most cases in developed countries occur in the setting of alcoholism
- Other clinical settings predisposing to Wernicke encephalopathy include a staple diet of polished rice, gastrointestinal surgical procedures leading to loss of portions of the GI tract, recurrent vomiting or chronic diarrhea, cancer chemotherapy and systemic diseases (renal failure with dialysis, AIDS)
Sites
- Mammillary bodies, medial thalamus / wall of third ventricle, periaqueductal gray matter, midbrain tectum
Etiology
- Thiamine deficiency leads to impaired function of enzymes using thiamine pyrophosphate as a coenzyme
- Disruption in thiamine dependent metabolic processes (carbohydrate and lipid metabolism) leads to loss of osmotic gradients with resulting intracellular fluid accumulation (cytotoxic edema) and eventual blood brain barrier breakdown (vasogenic edema)
Clinical features
- Wernicke encephalopathy: ocular abnormalities (nystagmus / ophthalmoplegia), mental status changes (confusion) and gait abnormalities (ataxia)
- Korsakoff syndrome: loss of working memory with relative preservation of reference memory
Diagnosis
- Mainly based on clinical and imaging findings
Laboratory
- Measurement of thiamine or its metabolites in blood / erythrocytes
- Red blood cell transketolase activity
Radiology description
- Acute Wernicke encephalopathy: bilateral, symmetric T2 and FLAIR signal hyperintensities
Radiology images
Images hosted on other servers:
Hyperintense signal
Shrinking of the cortical gyri
Prognostic factors
- ~20% mortality rate
- ~80% of individuals who survive Wernicke encephalopathy will develop Korsakoff syndrome
Case reports
- 43 year old man with Wernicke encephalopathy that developed during the introduction period of peritoneal dialysis (Intern Med 2013;52:2093)
- 68 year old man with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (JRSM Open 2014;5:2042533313518915)
- 76 year old woman with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome in primary peritoneal cancer (Case Rep Oncol 2013;6:593)
Treatment
- Parenteral thiamine administration, given before or with intravenous glucose
Gross description
- Acute Wernicke encephalopathy: hemorrhages in mammillary bodies, medial thalami, periaqueductal gray matter
- Chronic lesions: atrophy of affected structures
Gross images
Images hosted on other servers:
Cerebellar vermis atrophy not evident
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Acute Wernicke encephalopathy: hemorrhages, vascular proliferation and edema in mammillary bodies, medial thalami and periaqueductal gray matter
- Chronic lesions: mild neuronal loss with gliosis in affected structures
Microscopic (histologic) images
Images hosted on other servers:
Wernicke encephalopathy
Atrophy of the cerebellar cortex
Mamillary bodies
Differential diagnosis
- Alcohol / drug intoxication
- Bilateral paramedian thalamic infarcts
- Other causes of acute encephalopathy
(viral encephalitis, demyelinating disease)
Additional references
