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Memantine Usage for Management of Korsakoff Syndrome in the Setting of Chronic Alcohol Use and Unspecified Eating Disorder
Internal Medicine
  • Varun Reddy, HCA Healthcare
  • Andrea Hernandez, HCA Healthcare
  • Leah Grossman, HCA Healthcare
  • Debra Angelo, HCA Healthcare
  • Johnathan Frunzi, HCA Healthcare
Division
West Florida
Hospital
Medical Center of Trinity
Document Type
Case Report
Publication Date
3-12-2021
Keywords
  • wernicke-korsakoff syndrome,
  • memantine,
  • nmda receptor antagonist,
  • quetapine
Abstract

Korsakoff syndrome is a neuropsychiatric condition frequently seen as a progression of Wernicke’s encephalopathy and is often associated with long-term alcohol abuse. It is characterized by further cognitive impairments, such as indiscriminate anterograde and retrograde amnesia, in addition to executive function deficits. As the syndrome is a result of severe thiamine deficiency, its management primarily focuses on nutritional replenishment and electrolyte maintenance. In recent years, a few published reports have detailed the off-label use of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs for Alzheimer’s in an attempt to treat neurocognitive deficits associated with Korsakoff patients. In this particular case, we note subjective improvement in cognition after initiating memantine, an N-Methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist.

Publisher or Conference
Cureus
Citation Information
Reddy V, Hernandez A, Grossman L, et al. Memantine Usage for Management of Korsakoff Syndrome in the Setting of Chronic Alcohol Use and Unspecified Eating Disorder. Cureus. 2021 Mar;13(3):e13846. doi:10.7759/cureus.13846