TY - JOUR
T1 - Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff's psychosis
T2 - to fortify or not to fortify?
AU - Bond, Nigel W.
AU - Homewood, Judi
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - The conventional wisdom suggests that Korsakoff's psychosis, an amnesic disorder associated with prolonged alcohol consumption, is the chronic outcome of a thiamin deficiency first exhibited as Wernicke's encephalopathy. The present paper describes the debate in Australia over whether flour and alcoholic beverages should be fortified with thiamin, in an attempt to prevent Wernicke's encephalopathy and thus Korsakoff's psychosis. We conclude that the scientific evidence linking Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff's psychosis is tenuous. Certainly, it is not sufficient to support what would amount to mass medication.
AB - The conventional wisdom suggests that Korsakoff's psychosis, an amnesic disorder associated with prolonged alcohol consumption, is the chronic outcome of a thiamin deficiency first exhibited as Wernicke's encephalopathy. The present paper describes the debate in Australia over whether flour and alcoholic beverages should be fortified with thiamin, in an attempt to prevent Wernicke's encephalopathy and thus Korsakoff's psychosis. We conclude that the scientific evidence linking Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff's psychosis is tenuous. Certainly, it is not sufficient to support what would amount to mass medication.
KW - alcohol
KW - Australia
KW - fortification
KW - Korsakoff's psychosis
KW - thiamin
KW - Wernicke's encephalopathy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0025914632&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0892-0362(91)90083-9
DO - 10.1016/0892-0362(91)90083-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 1921914
AN - SCOPUS:0025914632
SN - 0892-0362
VL - 13
SP - 353
EP - 355
JO - Neurotoxicology and Teratology
JF - Neurotoxicology and Teratology
IS - 4
ER -