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Mamillary body atrophy in Wernicke's encephalopathy: Antemortem identification using magnetic resonance imaging
Author(s) -
Charness Michael E.,
DeLaPaz Robert L.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410220506
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , atrophy , medicine , pathology , wernicke's encephalopathy , nuclear magnetic resonance , wernicke encephalopathy , encephalopathy , neuroscience , psychology , radiology , thiamine deficiency , thiamine , physics
We used magnetic resonance imaging to determine the volume of the mamillary bodies in 9 patients with chronic Wernicke's encephalopathy, 7 patients with presumed Alzheimer's disease, and 37 control patients. The mean mamillary body volume (± standard error) was 21.3 ± 5.8 mm 3 in Wernicke patients, 40.1 ± 3.7 mm 3 in Alzheimer patients, and 51.7 ± 2.5 mm 3 in control patients. Seven of nine (78%) patients with chronic Wernicke's encephalopathy had smaller mamillary bodies than 36 of 37 control patients and 7 of 7 Alzheimer patients. The decrease in mamillary body volume was related neither to patient age nor to degree of ventricular enlargement, and most likely reflects the mamillary body atrophy that is grossly apparent at autopsy in up to 81% of Wernicke patients. This technique provides a means of identifying the most specific macroscopic lesion of chronic Wernicke's encephalopathy.