This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Korsakoff's syndrome

Authoring team

Korsakoff's psychosis is a condition that is characterised by a retrograde amnesia – loss of memory for events before the onset of the illness – and an inability to memorise new information. (1)

Estimates of progression to Korsakoff's psychosis range between 50% and 85%. (2)

The condition is most commonly seen in alcoholic patients where there is loss of nerve cells in the thalamic and mamillary bodies secondary to a thiamine deficiency, and occasionally in cases of head injury, cerebral hypoxia, tumour or encephalitis. There is microglial and capillary proliferation.

Of those who develop Korsakoff's psychosis, 25% will require long-term institutional care (3)

Reference:

  1. Chandrakumar A, Bhardwaj A, 't Jong GW. Review of thiamine deficiency disorders: Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff psychosis. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2018 Oct 2;30(2):153-62.
  2. Arts NJ, Walvoort SJ, Kessels RP. Korsakoff's syndrome: a critical review. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2017 Nov 27;13:2875-90.
  3. van Dam MJ, van Meijel B, Postma A, et al. Health problems and care needs in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome: A systematic review. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2020 Aug;27(4):460-481.

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2025 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.