CASE OF WERNIKE'S ENCEPHALOPATHY NON-ALCOHOLIC GENESIS: CLINICAL CASE

Wernike's encephalopathy (WE) is a difficult to recognize, but potentially curable disease with high doses of thiamine, related to urgent conditions. In the absence of specific treatment, or at a late start, WE turns into Korsakov syndrom (Wernike-Korsakov syndrom). Although WE most often develops in patients with alcoholism, many of WE cases have non-alcoholic genesis. We present the case of WE in a 46-year-old patient who denies alcohol abuse but has a history of food restriction with significant weight loss, which, apparently, was the cause of thiamine deficiency. Differential diagnosis was performed with stroke, stem encephalitis and Miller-Phisher syndrom. Despite the treatment, even after 4 months after discharge from the hospital, the patient still has atactic and mnestic disorders. The presented case demonstrates the difficulty of diagnosing WE in patients without a clear alcoholic history

Wernike's encephalopathy, thiamine deficiency, mnestic disorders