Wernicke encephalopathy and pellagra in an alcoholic and malnourished patient

Abstract

Deficiency of multiple vitamins can be identified in alcoholic and malnourished patients. We report a patient with Wernicke encephalopathy, a B1 deficiency and pellagra, a niacin deficiency. A 61-year-old Japanese man presented with generalised weakness. He had drunk alcohol heavily for more than a year without eating adequate meals. Physical examination showed disorientation, eye movement impairment, muscle wasting and a rash over the limbs. Multivitamin supplementations improved all the symptoms. Pellagra causes dementia, diarrhoea, or dermatitis, and can mimic non-specific erythaema in alcoholics. The differential diagnosis between pellagra and non-specific erythaema is important because of the treatability of pellagra by niacin supplementation.