Mental Health
Dementia: Korsakoff’s Syndrome Due to Vitamin B1 Deficiency
How to reduce health risks for alcohol-related brain damage
Yesterday, I wrote an article about reducing risk factors for dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. A subscriber mentioned that one of her family members was diagnosed with Korsakoff syndrome and wanted to learn more about this neurological condition.
With the inspiration gained from the reader, I decided to provide high-level perspectives on this neurodegenerative disease as an extension of my previous article about dementia.
Korsakoff’s syndrome is a type of dementia. The syndrome is associated with the studies of Sergei Sergeyevich Korsakoff, a neuropsychiatrist. Professor Korsakoff intensely studied alcoholic psychosis.
This distinguished professor contributed to neurology and psychiatry with groundbreaking research, but unfortunately, he died at 46 from heart failure in 1900. This syndrome is also known as alcohol-related brain damage, as the syndrome is primarily observed in long-term and excessive alcohol users.
As I mentioned in my previous article, excessive alcohol has a detrimental effect on the brain. The significant impact is memory impairment. Unfortunately, this syndrome may remain underdiagnosed, like Alzheimer’s or other dementia types.
In Korsakoff’s syndrome, overuse of alcohol causes Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency. This vitamin is critical for creating memories in the brain. Even though it sounds like a simple vitamin, thiamine is an essential nutrient.
Vitamin B1 is crucial for the brain because it synthesizes neurotransmitters, maintains membrane potential, and enables myelination.
Unfortunately, alcohol can impair the absorption of Vitamin B1 from the small intestine, affecting its transportation to the brain and diminishing its utilization. Thiamine is an agent to produce energy for brain cells from sugar.
When I learned about various side effects of alcohol on the brain during my studies, I decided to stop consuming alcohol entirely as it did not do any good to my health.
I learned that alcohol creates toxic effects on brain cells. Besides, intoxication and withdrawal effects of alcohol can create biological stress in the brain affecting our mental health.
As I mentioned in this article, alcohol made me very sad and agitated. In later years I found out that I was carbs-intolerant, so excessive sugar in alcohol was causing havoc on my health, making me insulin resistant.
As mentioned in my previous articles, insulin resistance was the primary cause of many of my ailments in my youth.
Therefore, insulin resistance is a topic close to my heart. As Dr. Jason Fung nailed, insulin resistance has been the primary factor for the obesity epidemic.
I usually digress whenever insulin resistance comes to mind due to its societal effect on obesity. Let me get back to Korsakoff’s syndrome. I mention alcohol particularly because the risk for this condition increases for people who drink excessive alcohol regularly for a long time.
Even though alcohol misuse is considered the main culprit, studies also show that Korsakoff’s syndrome can be caused by AIDS, some cancers, chronic infections, anorexia, poor nutrition, and even weight-loss surgery. Some scientists also hypothesize that other conditions may also play a role in this syndrome.
Korsakoff syndrome usually happens before “Wernicke encephalopathy”. This term means acute brain reaction to severe lack of Vitamin B1. This condition is considered a medical emergency because patients experience terrible mental confusion, memory loss, and physical coordination.
Due to thiamine deficiency, biochemicals in the brain cannot carry critical signals through brain cells. Thus, these cells cannot store, form, and retrieve memories.
In addition to involuntary eye movements and double vision, one of the common symptoms of Korsakoff syndrome is fabricating information and not remembering information that the brain process.
People might think that these patients are lying. But their memories fail, so they confabulate. As a result, they cannot continue meaningful conversations. In addition, patients might experience delusion and hallucinations.
Diagnosis of Korsakoff syndrome is complex as there are no available blood works or neuro-imaging tests. Thus, the diagnosis is entirely based on the judgments of well-trained medical professionals.
In addition, diagnosis can be challenging because of symptoms of other neurodegenerative diseases. However, professionals always check the medical history of patients, particularly their alcohol consumption and other factors affecting Vitamin B1 deficiency.
Treatment usually includes immediate Vitamin B1 supplementation, such as high-dose injection (intravenous or intramuscular) in severe cases. In addition, they use other vitamins, such as magnesium, to reduce symptoms.
As a long-term treatment, the healthcare givers help the patients to refrain from alcohol use and help them to have a nutrient-dense diet.
Finally, if the cause of the syndrome is not alcohol, practitioners address other underlying factors caused by conditions such as cancer, AIDS, chronic infections, and anorexia.
To conclude, although there are several causes of Korsakoff syndrome since excessive and long-term use of alcohol is a known risk factor, it can be a wise choice to consume alcohol in moderation, like all fun things in life.
I hope this brief overview and information can create awareness in understanding Korsakoff syndrome and take necessary measures to prevent and treat it with the help of qualified healthcare professionals.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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