Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome overview

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2]; Aditya Govindavarjhulla, M.B.B.S. [3]

Overview

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a is a degenerative brain disorder cause by thiamine deficiency. This is usually secondary to alcohol abuse. Although Wernicke's and Korsakoff's may appear to be two different disorders, they are generally considered to be different stages of the same disorder, which is called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome(WKS). Wernicke's encephalopathy represents the "acute" phase of the disorder, and Korsakoff's amnesic syndrome represents the "chronic" phase.