Psychiatria pre prax 1/2016
Wernicke’s encephalopathy
Wernicke’s encephalopathy is an acute syndrome resulting from thiamine deficiency. It occurs particularly in alcoholic patients, but also in many other diseases. The typical triad of symptoms of ataxia, ophthalmoplegia and delirium occurs in a minority of patients, so it is necessary to consider this disease even in case of not fully developed symptomatology. The disease is treated with supplementation of thiamine.
Keywords: Wernicke’s encephalopathy, thiamine, delirium, ataxia
