Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

1. Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), also called wet brain, Korsakoff's psychosis, and alcoholic encephalopathy, is the combined presence ofWernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff's syndrome.Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a brain disorder due to thiamine (Vitamin b12)Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are different conditions. Both are due to brain damage caused by a lack of vitamin B1.Lack of vitamin B1 is common in people with Alchole. It is also common in persons whose bodies do not absorb food properly (malabsorption), as sometimes occurs with a chronic illness or after obesity (bariatric) surgery.

                                   Korsakoff syndrome, or Korsakoff psychosis, tends to develop as Wernicke symptoms go away. Wernicke encephalopathy causes brain damage in lower parts of the brain called the thalamus and hypothalamus. Korsakoff psychosis results from permanent damage to areas of the brain involved with memory.
1. • Symptoms of Wernicke encephalopathy include:
     1-Confusion and loss of mental activity that can progress to coma and death.
     2-Loss of muscle coordination (ataxia) that can cause leg tremor.
     3-Vision changes such as abnormal eye movements (back and forth movements called nystagmus), double vision, eyelid drooping.
     4-Korsakoff syndrome causes problems learning new information, inability to remember recent events and long-term memory gaps. Memory problems may be strikingly severe while other thinking and social skills are relatively unaffected. For example, individuals may seem able to carry on a coherent conversation, but moments later be unable to recall that the conversation took place or to whom they spoke.
   
                       Those with Korsakoff syndrome may "confabulate," or make up, information they can't remember. They are not "lying" but may actually believe their invented explanations. Scientists don't yet understand why Korsakoff syndrome may cause confabulation.
   
                                              Korsakoff syndrome causes problems learning new information, inability to remember recent events and long-term memory gaps. Memory problems may be strikingly severe while other thinking and social skills are relatively unaffected. For example, individuals may seem able to carry on a coherent conversation, but moments later be unable to recall that the conversation took place or to whom they spoke.
   
   Those with Korsakoff syndrome may "confabulate," or make up, information they can't remember. They are not "lying" but may actually believe their invented explanations. Scientists don't yet understand why Korsakoff syndrome may cause confabulation.
   
   KS is described as an acute onset of severe memory impairment without any dysfunction in intellectual abilities. The lists the following criteria for the diagnosis of Korsakoff's Syndrome:
   
   
   anterograde amnesia, Variable presentation of retrograde amnesia
   
   One of:
   Aphasia
   Apraxia
   Agnosia
   A deficit in executive functions
   
   In addition, the DSM IV indicates that normal activities and function will be impaired by the memory deficits and that the experience of amnesia must occur outside of times where the individual is in a state of delirium, intoxification, or withdrawal. The criteria for diagnosis also maintain that there must be evidence that the amnesia is caused by the use of alcohol
   
   Despite the assertion that Korsakoff's syndrome must be caused by the use of alcohol, there have been several cases where it has developed from other instances of thiamine deficiency resulting from gross malnutrition due to conditions such as; stomach cancer, anorexia nervosa, and gastrectomy.
   
   Treatment: