SummaryWernicke encephalopathy (WE) commonly presents with oculomotor abnormalities, gait ataxia and confusion. WE can mimic rapidly progressive dementia syndromes, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau is frequently used for diagnosis of several dementia subtypes, predominantly CJD and Alzheimer's disease. The combination of very high CSF tau (tau) and normal phosphorylated tau ( p-tau) levels is almost exclusively seen in aggressive diseases, such as CJD. The authors present a case of a woman with WE, caused by chronic insufficient dietary intake, with highly elevated CSF tau and normal p-tau. The clinical symptoms and CSF findings raised the suspicion of CJD. However, shortly after immediate treatment with thiamine the patient clinically improved. At followup, 2.5 months later, she had made a good recovery. This case of rapidly progressive dementia illustrates that, even in the case of a highly elevated CSF tau, clinicians should be alert for treatable causes such as WE. BACKGROUND
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.