Wet Brain Syndrome Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Other competencies include dealing with ADHD, mood/anxiety disorders, parenting challenges, addiction, PTSD, co- dependency, and relationship issues. I have experience in residential, school-based mental health, children’s community mental health, victims of crime (VOC), and private practice settings. Wet brain syndrome is determined by several factors, including how long a person has been drinking and how often they do it. But early detection can slow the progression of the disease and alleviate many symptoms. Treatment for Wernicke’s encephalopathy is only effective if a person stops drinking. It’s important to note that thiamine will not improve intellect or memory in wet brain patients.

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Korsakoff psychosis is characterized by:

You might hear the dated term “wet brain” used in reference to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. However, the term “wet brain” carries and perpetuates stigma by inaccurately conveying that people willfully contract it. The truth is two people can have similar drinking patterns and one will develop Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and the other won’t. It’s a complex condition with many factors and, like alcohol use disorder, no one chooses it.

Some researchers believe that Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are two separate disorders that share the same cause and are simply related to one another. Other researchers, however, believe the two conditions are actually different stages of the same syndrome. In this case, Wernicke syndrome is the initial, acute, shorter phase with more serious symptoms. Korsakoff syndrome then indicates a chronic and long-lasting disorder.

Is Wernicke Korsakoff Syndrome Reversible?

Within 7 days, endothelial cells malfunction, leading to neuron death and increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier (high-risk factors for stroke). Wernicke-Korsakoff is a rare memory disorder that occurs due to a lack of thiamine (vitamin B1) and malnutrition. Unfortunately, for patients who reach this stage of an alcoholic https://ecosoberhouse.com/, symptoms are irreversible and parts of the brain often begin to die. People who suffer from addiction to alcohol tend to have poor diets that don’t cater to their nutritional needs, which can result in a lack of thiamine. Additionally, alcohol reduces the body’s ability to absorb thiamine, which can harm the brain’s ability to function normally.

The liver stores thiamine and the gastrointestinal tract extracts it from food. Heavy alcohol consumption depletes the thiamine stores in the liver and makes it more difficult for the digestive tract to process it. As a result, the alcoholic wet brain receives less thiamine to start with, which is only made worse by the brain’s reduced ability to absorb the vitamin.

Wet Brain Signs, Symptoms & Causes

Concurrently, they might detect anomalies in their central nervous system and peripheral regions, like the hands and feet. Changes in the brain’s physiology have effects on other parts of the body as well. Patients may also consider medication-assisted alcohol detox to help alleviate symptoms of withdrawal.

As such, we recommend that the term “wet brain” be avoided in favor of the more accurate “Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.” For heavy drinkers, these seemingly innocent memory lapses can evolve to slurred speech, an unsteady walk, violent muscle twitches or hallucinations, signaling alcohol-induced brain damage. If left untreated, the damage can progress to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a potentially life-threatening condition.