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The results will help determine whether you or your loved one has AUD, dementia, or both. Alcohol-related dementia can occur at any age, and it is expected to worsen rapidly (within a few years) after the initial symptoms begin. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome typically presents with three main areas of symptoms. While a selection of studies is discussed below, Table 2 gives an overview of all published studies in compliance with our inclusion criteria.
Treatment for Alcohol-Related Dementia
If a doctor is unaware of the person drinking too much alcohol over many years, they may not consider alcohol-related ‘dementia’ as a possible diagnosis. The person may not get the right treatment and support, which is why it is important to tell doctors about drinking too much alcohol. You should discuss your intentions with your healthcare provider, who can work with you to help plan your next steps toward recovery. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome can occur due to other conditions, but misuse of alcohol is a common underlying factor for its development due to long-term vitamin deficiency.
Alcohol-related ‘dementia’ and memory problems
One specific form of alcohol-related dementia is Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (WKS). It happens when chronic alcoholism leads to a severe vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency. A big difference between alcohol-related dementia and other types of dementia is that sometimes you can reverse or improve alcoholic dementia—at least in the earlier stages. Only a doctor can figure out if a certain case might be reversed or slowed down. WKS is classified in the DSM-IV as ‘alcohol-induced persisting amnestic disorder’, and memory disturbance is the key diagnostic feature 41.
Getting the right care for alcohol-related ‘dementia’
Unlike many forms of dementia, alcohol-related dementia may be reversible depending on the circumstances. Reversing alcohol-related dementia involves stopping alcohol use so that healing can occur. Thiamine works in the brain by helping brain cells produce energy from sugar. If there is a deficiency of thiamine, brain cells do not produce enough energy to function properly. It is likely that a person will need a brain scan to rule out other causes of their symptoms.
- Drinking alcohol affects problem-solving, decision-making, and memory, hindering the ability to function properly.
- Middle aged women are more at risk of the negative effects of alcohol due to differences in hormones, body fat composition and height weight ratios.
- You’re not a failure or a lost cause because you have a health condition.
- Thus, current diagnostic criteria for ARD have been inadequately tested.
Recognizing the Symptoms
- Remember, they’re not trying to get you in trouble or make you feel shame.
- Excessive drinking over a period of years may lead to a condition commonly known as alcoholic dementia, or alcohol-related dementia (ARD).
- Alcohol causes cognitive impairment that can greatly increase the risk of injury with these conditions.
- It’s hard to prove which condition affects your life expectancy the most.
- Cognitive and behavioral changes specific to ARD have received limited investigation.
During the middle stages of alcohol-related dementia, symptoms become more severe. People in this stage have more severe memory loss and find daily tasks to be more difficult. People may start to forget family members and close friends and may find it harder to communicate. They may also start to hear, see or believe things that are not true. A healthcare provider can diagnose alcohol-related dementia in a few ways. The first step is doing a complete physical exam and neurological exam.
Abstinence of up to one year is linked with improved attention, working memory, and problem-solving abilities. However, learning and short-term memory impairments may be more difficult to reverse even with abstinence. Early treatment is the key to successfully treating alcohol-related dementia. If caught early enough, patients with the more general type of ARD can significantly improve their condition by quitting alcohol and eating a balanced diet. They will also take a patient’s history, perform a physical exam, and conduct lab tests. They will determine if a patient’s health status is consistent with the effects of substance misuse.
Finally, these socially isolated patients are often hospitalized for another health condition and this presents an ideal opportunity for screening, identification, and intervention. Korsakoff’s and Wernicke’s are related disorders, both of which stem from vitamin B1 deficiency. Some scientists see them as different stages of the same disorder, which is called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Research conducted by the CDC found that African American, Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults are more likely to experience dementia in general.
Thiamine is widely available in food, especially in whole grains, meat, and fish. In the US, many breads, cereals, noodles, and rice are what is Oxford House enriched with thiamine. Chronic alcoholics often don’t take in enough thiamine because they don’t eat enough, getting most of their calories through alcoholic beverages. Thiamine deficiency and Wernicke’s encephalopathy are also occasionally found in people who’ve had gastric bypass surgery, anorexia, prolonged vomiting, chemotherapy, and other causes of malnutrition.
There is a need for further epidemiological study of this population by using standardized criteria for diagnosis to increase accuracy in identification of underlying WKS neuropathology and allow overall prevalence rates to be established. Estimates of past drinking habits of individuals diagnosed with ARD have included up to 60 years of drinking (and up to 120 drinks a week at heaviest), although there is significant variability in length and severity of drinking 34. Oslin and colleagues 35 suggested that a five-year history of consuming 35 standard drinks a week for men and 28 for women constitutes a sufficient level of neurotoxic burden to risk the development of ARD, but this needs verification. Most types of dementia are progressive, meaning they get worse over time.
