The Role of Thiamine Deficiency in Alcoholic Brain Disease

Men suffering from alcohol abuse, between years, are slightly more affected than women of the same age. Of those who develop Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, about 25 percent require long-term treatment in a hospital setting. There’s no single test for the syndrome, but a good indication, particularly when disorientation and confusion are apparent, is testing vitamin B1 levels in the blood.

Around 80% of individuals suffering from severe alcohol use disorder experience a lack of thiamine. Wet brain can progress in a specific pattern, or both Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome can develop together. However, the typical pattern that constitutes wet brain is the development of Wernicke encephalopathy followed by Korsakoff’s psychosis. Cirrhosis, pancreatitis, and cardiovascular disease are some of the more common damaging effects of chronic alcohol abuse, but wet brain is also one of the lesser-known effects of alcohol addiction.

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Eventually, the damage will become so severe that it is irreversible and cannot be treated. Rarely, people will experience abnormal eye movements and issues with vision, such as drooping eyelids or double vision. Once wet brain reaches the second stage, Korsakoff’s psychosis, patients experience a marked decrease in the ability to form new memories.

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Getting help for your addiction is important, especially if you suffer from wet brain syndrome, because the disorder will continue to progress if you don’t stop drinking. The second reason heavy alcohol consumption causes thiamine deficiency is because alcohol prevents the liver from working properly. The alcohol will prevent the liver from converting the thiamine into a usable form. This causes the body to not be able to have enough thiamine to properly function.

• Here, at AspenRidge Recovery, we can help you treat an alcohol addiction.
• The best way to treat Korsakoff’s psychosis is to replenish the body’s supply of thiamine.
• Unfortunately, while doctors can still treat this disease, patients will never fully recover.

The compound containing two phosphate groups (thiamine diphosphate [ThDP]) is
the actual active molecule that serves as a cofactor for the various thiamine–requiring
enzymes. The levels of phosphate–free thiamine in the cell are relatively
low and are tightly regulated by rapid conversion to the phosphorylated forms. The earlier you seek medical attention and are properly diagnosed, the better of a situation you will be in. The very first step to treating wet brain is replacing the loss of thiamine, usually by administering the vitamin intravenously.