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Síndrome de Wernicke-Korsakoff - Overview

Nombres alternativos

Psicosis de Korsakoff; Encefalopatía Alcohólica; Enfermedad de Wernicke

Definición:

Es un trastorno cerebral debido a la deficiencia de tiamina.

Causas, incidencia y factores de riesgo:

Se cree que la encefalopatía de Wernicke y el síndrome de Korsakoff son afecciones diferentes que se deben ambas al daño cerebral causado por la falta de vitamina B1 (tiamina).

La falta de vitamina B1 es común en personas que sufren de alcoholismo. También es común en personas cuyos cuerpos no absorben los alimentos apropiadamente (malabsorción), como ocurre algunas veces después de una cirugía para la obesidad.

El síndrome o psicosis de Korsakoff tiende a desarrollarse a medida que desaparecen los síntomas del síndrome de Wernicke. La encefalopatía de Wernicke causa daño cerebral en partes bajas del cerebro llamadas el tálamo y el hipotálamo. La psicosis de Korsakoff resulta del daño a áreas del cerebro involucradas con la memoria.

Sistema nervioso central

Reviewed last on: 2/6/2010
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

Referencias

Brust JCM. Nutrition and alcohol-related neurologic disorders. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 443.

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