CASE REPORT   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2018 June;177(6):334-41

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.17.03661-0

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Non-alcoholic Wernicke’s encephalopathy: from MRI findings of a case to differential diagnosis checklist

Cesare GAGLIARDO ¹ ✉, Giuseppe LA TONA ¹, Simona ARCULEO ¹, Fabio BARONE ¹, Giuseppe SALVAGGIO ¹, Maria Pia PAPPALARDO ², Carla CANNIZZARO ³, Roberto LAGALLA ¹

¹ Section of Radiological Sciences, Department of Biopathology and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; ² Unit of Neuroradiology, A.R.N.A.S. Civico Di Cristina Benfratelli, Palermo, Italy; ³ G. D’Alessandro Department of Maternal and Child’s Health, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

Wernicke’s encephalopathy is a serious neurological disorder secondary to thiamine deficiency in alcoholics. However, rarely it affects non-alcoholics. Here we present a case of Wernicke’s encephalopathy in a non-alcoholic 56-year-old female, treated by endoscopic surgery for a duodenal ulcer two years before. She came to our attention for a sudden onset of a neurological syndrome characterized by visual deficits, diplopia, confusion, spatial disorientation and loss of short-term memory. An MRI scan showed the typical MRI findings of Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which are discussed together with the possible differential diagnosis.

KEY WORDS: Wernicke encephalopathy - Thiamine deficiency - Metabolic brain diseases - Magnetic resonance imaging - Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging