Korsakoff Syndrome: Underdiagnosed and Underserved

Korsakoff syndrome (KS) is a late neuropsychiatric manifestation of Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) in which there is a disorder of selective anterograde and retrograde amnesia. Although this can happen in a variety of conditions that lead to thiamine deficiency and, as a result, damage the medial temporal lobes, KS is most frequently seen in individuals with alcohol use disorder after an episode of WE. In some individuals, like in this case report, KS develops without a recognized acute episode of WE. It has been suggested that in these cases, KS may result from a series of subclinical or unrecognized episodes of WE.