Insufficient Vitamin B1 Levels Lead to Fatal Brain Disorder

Vitamin B1-deficient individuals are more likely to be diagnosed with a fatal brain disorder called Wernicke encephalopathy.

Wernicke's encephalopathy, often known as Wernicke's disease, is an acute neuropsychiatric disorder that arises due to inadequate supply of a single vitamin, B1 called thiamine. This fatal brain disorder occurs with symptoms such as confusion, hallucinations, coma, loss of muscle coordination and vision problems.

Vision problems include double vision and involuntary eye movements. If this condition remains untreated, it leads to irreversible brain damage and death. This disease is rooted in chronic alcohol abuse and anorexia that leads to malnourishment.

In the latest finding neurologists at the Loyola University Medical Center found that lack of sufficient vitamin B1 called thiamine is linked to Wernicke's disease. 

"Wernicke encephalopathy is an example of the wide range of brain diseases called encephalopathies that are caused by metabolic disorders and toxic substances," said Loyola neurologists Matthew McCoyd, MD, Sean Ruland, DO and Jose Biller, MD.

Acute encephalopathy rapidly progresses within hours. This is mainly due to toxic and metabolic factors. 

"Toxic and metabolic encephalopathies may range in severity from the acute confusional state to frank coma," McCoyd, Ruland and Biller write. "As permanent injury may occur, an organized approach is needed to make an accurate and rapid diagnosis."

Thiamine deficiency is one among the nutritional deficiencies that lead to brain diseases like Wernicke encephalopathy. Though this condition is under-diagnosed, autopsy studies reveal that the prevalence of the disease is as high as 2.8 percent. Anyone diagnosed with this disease, requires an immediate medical attention and thiamine treatment - either with injection or IV. 

It is reported that in people with alcoholism or AIDS, the clinical examination is missed on nearly 75-80 percent of the cases. If the condition is left untreated, it leads to Korsakoff syndrome (KS) that is characterized by memory loss and inability to form memories. Other symptoms include apathy, anxiety and confabulation.

Nearly 80 percent of the Wernicke's disease patients develop KS and when this occurs just 20 percent of them recover.

The finding was documented in the journal Scientific American Medicine.