Volume 68 Number 3 May 2001	back to contents

Wernicke's Encephalopathy in a Non-alcoholic Man: Case Report and Brief Review	216-218
Aman Munir, M.D., Syed A. Hussain, M.D., Damanpaul Sondhi, M.D., Joseph Ameh, M.D., and Fred Rosner, M.D.
Address correspondence to Fred Rosner, M.D., Queens Hospital Center, 82-68 164th Street, Jamaica, NY 11432. Wernicke's encephalopathy, a serious neurological disorder caused by thiamine deficiency, is most commonly found in chronic alcoholics. We present a typical case of Wernicke's encephalopathy in a non-alcoholic man. Our patient presented with altered mental status, slurred speech, fever, vomiting and headache of one-week duration. An infectious etiology of the symptoms was ruled out by spinal fluid cultures. The patient improved dramatically within 24 hours of administration of thiamine. KEY WORDS Wernicke's encephalopathy, thiamine, chronic alcoholism, malnutrition, glucose.

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