Everyone knows how harmful effects alcohol is on the body. Long-term abuse of alcohol provokes the development of various diseases. Often, patients suffering from alcohol dependence are diagnosed with the Korsakov syndrome - a condition characterized by memory disorders. The reasons for this violation may be different.
What is Korsakov syndrome
A patient with such a pathology loses the ability to remember current events, but at the same time he has a memory of the past. For the first time, such a violation was studied and described by the Russian psychiatrist S. Korsakov, hence the name.
At first it was believed that such memory problems manifest themselves only under the influence of alcoholic beverages consumed for a long time and in considerable quantities. But further studies have shown that the main cause of violations is vitamin B1 deficiency, which causes various malfunctions of the central nervous system and certain parts of the brain, and also leads to the development of degenerative processes that occur with age.
Modern psychiatrists believe that the Korsakov syndrome is an independent nosological unit, which is a special type of amnesia.
How is the disease manifested?
The main symptom of this pathology is the inability to remember and reproduce new information. Events that happened to a person before, even before he got sick, are stored in his memory, unlike those that happened recently or those that are happening now.
The most common signs of Korsakovās syndrome:
- A person loses orientation in space, falling into new and unusual places for himself. For example, while in a hospital, a patient hardly finds his ward, but at home, this problem does not occur, since the work of long-term memory is not impaired. A change of residence or even the usual rearrangement in the room is severe stress for the patient, which can provoke the rapid development of pathology.
- The patient does not orient in time. A person with such a disease does not remember today, not a month, not a year. He is not able to understand where he is and to understand what is happening to him.
- A person can talk about events that actually were not. Moreover, such stories often take on fantastic outlines, for example, from a patient you can hear about parallel worlds, where he was, a battle with non-existent monsters. For others, this looks like an outright lie, while the victim himself does not even suspect that this is only a figment of his imagination.
- With Korsakovās syndrome, memory disorders called pseudo-reminiscence are observed, that is, events that occur in the patientās life are time-shifted. Thus, a person involuntarily fills memory gaps. Such stories do not arouse suspicion for an outsider and look quite ordinary, but when reporting that he was in the theater or traveling, relaxing by the sea, the person himself does not suspect that these events happened to him in the distant past, and not in the present time.
- The patient can replace memory gaps with events from the movies or books. There is some information in the memory of a person, but he does not remember where it came from. Therefore, he can give out other people's thoughts, statements, poems as his own.
- The patient has difficulty concentrating, does not have sufficient willpower.
- Some patients suffer from a phenomenon such as false recognition. Meeting a stranger, they ārecognizeā him and take him for the one they knew before.
Korsakovsky syndrome has other symptoms related not only to memory. The patient may experience ophthalmoplegia, which is expressed in partial unilateral or bilateral paralysis of the oculomotor muscles. The violation is characterized by asymmetrical gaze or the patient's inability to focus on a particular subject. Ataxia is also possible when there is a lack of coordination in skeletal muscle movements.
Often, Korsakovās syndrome is accompanied by retrograde or anterograde amnesia. The patient is emotionally unstable, his languid, indifferent state suddenly changes to a feeling of euphoria. Perhaps the appearance of auditory and visual hallucinations, especially in the evening or at night. Such violations are most pronounced in people with alcohol dependence and in elderly patients.
In addition, if a person is addicted to alcohol, the development of Korsakov-Wernicke syndrome is possible (a combination of Korsakov syndrome with acute alcohol encephalopathy). A state is manifested by violations of both short-term and long-term memory, loss of the ability to think logically, lethargy and slowness, impaired coordination of movements, confusion.
According to the dynamics, the violation can be:
- progressive (manifested by an increase in the severity of manifestations);
- regressive (characterized by improvement);
- stationary (the severity and severity of violations for many years do not change).
Signs of non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome differ depending on the age of the patient:
- elderly people develop apathy; they suffer from a loss of orientation over time;
- with the Korsakov syndrome that occurs in childhood, the memory of young patients suffers, children forget the events that happened to them recently;
- middle-aged patients are euphoric. However, this does not last long and is replaced by memory lapses. The patient does not remember the events that have happened to him recently.
What to look for
The first symptoms can occur long before the development of pathology. You should be wary of the appearance of the following signs, which may indicate the likelihood of the appearance of the Korsakovsky amnestic syndrome in the future:
- pain in the legs, calves;
- darkening in the eyes;
- sensation of aches in the body;
- unsteady gait;
- headaches, often in the temple area;
- night sweats;
- limited ability, loss of interest in life;
- feeling of anxiety.
Causes of the disease
Vitamin B1 in the human body plays an important role. With his participation, nerve impulses are formed and transmitted between nerve cells. Korsakovsky syndrome is a condition characterized by a lack of vitamin B1, when metabolic processes are disturbed, which negatively affects the state of the deep structures of the brain.
Deficiency most often occurs with prolonged abuse of alcohol, since the vitamin cannot be absorbed normally by the body. This leads to the development of acute encephalopathy, without appropriate therapy leading to the onset of the disease.
What diseases does the Korsakov syndrome still occur? Pathology may result from:
- severe head injuries in which some parts of the brain were affected. Pathology has an acute onset, complete recovery is observed in rare cases;
- genetic predisposition;
- degenerative processes developing in old age, such as Alzheimer's disease and Peak's disease;
- pathologies of the nervous system, the development of which has led to various infections;
- encephalitis of various forms;
- intoxication of the body;
- pathologies of the digestive system, prolonged vomiting;
- constant malnutrition due to alcohol addiction. Korsakov syndrome also occurs with exhaustion on the background of diet or starvation in order to lose weight;
- chemotherapy, as a side effect;
- surgical interventions affecting the temporal lobes, which are performed by an epilepsy patient.
The disease may not progress for a long time, and if the treatment was timely and competent, then a decrease in manifestations is possible. With Korsakovās syndrome, psychosis develops if therapy is absent. In addition to the loss of orientation in time and space, the patient loses the ability to recognize the people who surround him. The patient can rave, the appearance of single hallucinations is possible.
Diagnostic measures
With such an ailment as Korsakovsky syndrome, the determination of the amount of vitamin B1 is of diagnostic value, for which a blood test is performed and the basic functions of the liver are evaluated. They also resort to a general examination of the patient. But they make a diagnosis only if there is a stable sign - memory problems that occurred with prolonged use of alcoholic beverages. To detect such violations, they turn to psychological tests, which consist in memorizing phrases or words.
Differential diagnosis
For successful therapy, the differential diagnosis of Korsakovās syndrome is important, since there are other disorders that can occur against the background of alcoholism. It is also important to exclude other diseases accompanied by memory impairments that are not associated with alcohol abuse, such as dementia, disorders against the background of depression, organic brain damage.
Therapies for the disease
Treatment of Korsakov syndrome is associated with significant difficulties. Success depends on:
- on the degree of social adaptation of the patient;
- age of the patient;
- general health
- the duration of drinking;
- degree of brain damage.
The main problem is that a patient who has the first signs of a disorder is not able to recognize this. For some time, memory failures were not noticed by others. And even when the diagnosis is made, the patient may refuse therapy, as he will consider himself completely healthy.
The method of treatment of the Korsakov syndrome is selected individually and is carried out comprehensively by a psychiatrist, narcologist (for alcoholism) and a neuropathologist.
The main goal of therapy is to eliminate the cause that caused the violation. When the Korsakov syndrome arises as a result of alcoholism, the patient is prescribed drugs based on thiamine and other trace elements that can protect against brain damage.
With the help of nootropic drugs, they achieve a significant improvement in memory, increased concentration of attention and learning ability. With increased anxiety and nervous excitability, the patient is recommended to take antipsychotic drugs in small doses.
In addition to drug therapy, a visit to a psychotherapist is necessary, which will help restore the patient's social adaptation. Do not be shy, such consultations have helped many people. Severe cases require hospitalization. In the medical facility, the patient will receive appropriate assistance and provide care. A very important point is the complete rejection of alcohol, if the violations were caused by this, otherwise the therapy may be ineffective, the risk of relapse increases.
The patient must adhere to a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates (in order to reduce the internal consumption of vitamin B1).
Treatment prognosis
A complete cure for Korsakovās syndrome is impossible, since brain damage is irreversible. But timely medical assistance helps to stop the development of pathology and significantly improve the patient's condition.
What can be the complications
Without timely treatment, patients suffering from alcohol dependence may develop dementia. In some cases, it is not possible to restore memory; a person becomes disabled.
Prevention of ailment
Since the basis of pathology is a certain model of behavior (addiction to alcohol or poor nutrition), it can be prevented quite well. The main preventive measures:
- Refuse alcohol or limit its quantity. If you notice signs of excessive addiction to alcohol, inform your loved ones about this and do not be afraid to contact a specialist. Timely treatment will relieve the development of violations in the future.
- Since Korsakoff syndrome arises from a lack of vitamin B1, it is necessary to include foods rich in this substance in the menu.
- If the first signs of memory impairment appear, you should consult a specialist as soon as possible. After a thorough diagnosis, the doctor will determine whether this is due to the natural processes of aging or if something else became the cause.
- Do not refuse to support loved ones. It is very difficult to cope with dangerous symptoms on your own, the help of friends and family will be very helpful.
Korsakovsky syndrome is a serious violation, in most cases having an unfavorable prognosis. To protect yourself from such a dangerous condition, it is important to take care of prevention, as well as reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages or even completely abandon them.