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.
