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.
Kent Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
C C
CC
Cook
P M
PM
Hallwood
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AD
Thomson
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