B Vitamin deficiency and neuropsychiatric syndromes in alcohol misuse.
Alcohol misuse and alcohol withdrawal are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric syndromes, some of which are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. B vitamin deficiency is known to contribute to the aetiology of a number of these syndromes, and B vitamin supplementation thus plays a significant part in prophylaxis and treatment. In particular, the Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome (WKS). due to thiamine deficiency, is a common condition in association with alcohol misuse, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Nicotinamide deficiency may result in a rarer condition, alcoholic pellagra encephalopathy, which often has a similar clinical presentation to WKS. This review considers the role of B vitamins in the aetiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric syndromes associated with alcohol misuse, with particular emphasis on WKS.
Cook
C C
CC
Kent Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
Hallwood
P M
PM
Thomson
A D
AD
D000425:Alcohol Amnestic Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010383:Pellagra / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D011604:Psychoses, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013832:Thiamine Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D026681:Vitamin B 6 Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D014804:Vitamin B Deficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D014899:Wernicke Encephalopathy / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy