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Hypoxia-ischemia and thiamine deficiency
A O Vortmeyer1, C Hagel, R Laas
1Department of Neuropathology, University of Hamburg, Germany.
Clinical Neuropathology
|July 1, 1993
Summary
Wernicke
Area of Science:
- Neuropathology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Wernicke's encephalopathy is traditionally linked to alcoholism.
- Its specific cause (pathogenesis) versus location (topography) of brain damage is debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if brain lesions in Wernicke's encephalopathy can result from hypoxia-ischemia, not just thiamine deficiency.
- To determine if hypoxic-ischemic brain damage can mimic Wernicke's encephalopathy.
Main Methods:
- Examined brains from 49 non-alcoholic patients with severe hypoxia-ischemia.
- Assessed mamillary body necrosis in these patients.
- Compared findings with mamillary bodies from 12 alcoholic patients.
Main Results:
- 19 non-alcoholic patients showed mamillary body necrosis similar to Wernicke's.
- Three of these had total necrosis of the mamillary bodies.
- Morphological changes in mamillary bodies from hypoxia-ischemia and thiamine deficiency were indistinguishable.
Conclusions:
- Wernicke's encephalopathy may be characterized by specific brain lesion locations (topography) rather than a single cause.
- Hypoxia-ischemia can cause brain damage identical to that seen in Wernicke's encephalopathy.