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Wernicke's encephalopathy after prolonged fasting
Author(s) -
Waterston John A.,
Gilligan Bernard S.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1986.tb113778.x
Subject(s) - ataxia , encephalopathy , medicine , chronic alcoholism , wernicke encephalopathy , myopathy , pediatrics , chronic alcoholic , wernicke's encephalopathy , psychiatry , thiamine , thiamine deficiency
Wernicke's encephalopathy has been associated rarely with fasting. We describe a middle‐aged patient who presented in a subacute fashion with features of thiamin deficiency after marked weight reduction. Associated features were chest pain, possibly related to cardiac involvement, and a proximal myopathy. The Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome has been described in the literature for around 100 years. However, the classic triad of ataxia, ophthalmoplegia and impaired conscious state that occurs in a person with chronic alcoholism is by no means its exclusive presentation.