Oxidative stress in Wernicke's encephalopathy

Jun-Dong Wei; Xueming Xu

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1150878

Oxidative stress in Wernicke's encephalopathy

Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 May 16:15:1150878. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1150878. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jun-Dong Wei¹, Xueming Xu²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Basic Medical Science, Medical College, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China.
² Department of Psychiatry, Taizhou Second People's Hospital, Taizhou, China.

Abstract

Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) is a severe life-threatening disease that occurs due to vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency (TD). It is characterized by acute mental disorder, ataxia, and ophthalmoplegia. TD occurs because of the following reasons: insufficient intake, increased demand, and long-term drinking due to corresponding organ damage or failure. Recent studies showed that oxidative stress (OS) can damage organs and cause TD in the brain, which further leads to neurodegenerative diseases, such as WE. In this review, we discuss the effects of TD caused by OS on multiple organ systems, including the liver, intestines, and brain in WE. We believe that strengthening the human antioxidant system and reducing TD can effectively treat WE.

Keywords: Wernicke’s encephalopathy; liver injury; neurodegenerative diseases; oxidative stress; thiamine deficiency.

Publication types

Review