As I was reading the other day something interested me right away – Korsakoff’s syndrome. I kept reading but my mind was now wondering what is it? Is it contagious? Is it named after the person it was discovered by? These are the thoughts that haunt me (and get me distracted).
So what is Korsakoff’s syndrome? It is (from further research) a neurological disorder associated from lack of thiamine, Vitamin B1, in the brain. From further inspection the syndrome really is named after the person who discovered it; his name is Sergei Korsakoff a neuropsychiatrist of Russian descant during the 19th century.
What are the symptoms? The symptoms are vague and can be for anything else (DON’T JUMP THE GUN THINKING YOU HAVE THIS!) it includes confusion, drowsiness, and difficulty with your balance. Before you go running to your doctor, please read further to see if you really have something to worry about.
What causes it? I already mentioned that Korsakoff’s syndrome is caused by lack of thiamine, there is a correlation with the extreme amount of alcohol. It isn’t just the extreme amount of alcohol some people take in; it is the poor diets that go with it. Little to no nutrition ergo lack of B1. But this isn’t just a syndrome for the alcoholic, it is for anyone with a poor diet. It can be eating disorders, or extreme dieting. Basically anything “extreme” with your dieting.
Is it treatable? In a more perfect world we would say “yes, if it is caught early” but most of the time people are diagnosed with it already ‘fully developed.’ The treatment is just as life changing as the syndrome itself. Some people need to go cold turkey from the alcohol. This means that from one day to the next you change your alcohol intake from your usual 5+ to completely 0. From then they have to adopt a healthier lifestyle/diet. This doesn’t meant hat this can completely disregard your syndrome but it can prevent further damage and that is always better than nothing!
This syndrome really intrigued me, maybe because of the name? But you never lose anything with a little research, oh and thank you for reading. Remember...
Video for your viewing (educational) pleasure. It is really interesting to see people with the syndrome and how they are. Note: this video is a little old.
interesting and very informative. This syndrome intrigued me as well. Not much to say because you covered the main points in your blog but I would like to share with you that I joke around with one of my friends because she is always dieting, to the point where she eats nothing but ice chips! She can definitely get a case of the Karasakoff's syndrome. oh one thing that I did want to ask was if you know the percentage of people who have this syndrome in the U.S. I am just curious?
ReplyDeleteI really do not know, but your friend should eat and take vitamins at least for her well being.
DeleteI found the Karasakoff's Syndrome interesting too, the name does stand out and makes us a bit curious. I thought it was just caused by excessive alcohol intake and lack of thiamine. I had no idea that extreme dieting and eating disorders could lead to this syndrome. I now understand why those doing the HCG dieting have weekly injections of the vitamin B1. It's important for them to have the substantial amount of thiamine to prevent these symptoms and be healthy as they are dieting.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of the Karasakoff's Syndrome until now, it might not sound as scary as it really is because as you mentioned it is not just lack of thiamine in alcoholics but in dieters too. What i'm trying to say that it is a syndrome that we might see increase soon because all the young adolescent girls want to be thin and want to have the ideal body not understanding the effects of extreme dieting. What i am also wondering now is if the people with symptoms of anorexia are being screened for this syndrome or if they advice them to take B1 vitamins.
ReplyDeleteThis was very informative. I didn't have any idea what Karasakoff's Syndrome until I read this blog. It is important to have a good diet to avoid any diseases that affect our abilities. Do you think this syndrome can be in our society nowadays, since it has been that many women do extreme dieting to reach up to our society's view "skinny means health"?
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