title: Wernicke's encephalopathy in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with polychemotherapy.
abstract: We report on a 3 3/4-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Polychemotherapy caused a complete remission of the tumor. Six months after treatment was started, the patient developed vomiting and diarrhea necessitating parenteral nutrition. Disturbance of eye movements appeared 4 weeks later. The patient died suddenly 3 days after their manifestation. Autopsy revealed Wernicke's encephalopathy. This case demonstrates the need for thiamine substitution in infants with malignant diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropathology, University of Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brück
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Christen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lakomek
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hanefeld
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Friede
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002196:Capillaries / Q000473:pathology; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016371:Cranial Irradiation; D005260:Female; D005911:Gliosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D013832:Thiamine Deficiency / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D014899:Wernicke Encephalopathy / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*