10 Minutes
Table of Contents
Surveys suggest that approximately 6.2% of adult Americans successfully meet the clinical criteria for alcohol addiction. When people think about alcoholism and the problems it may induce, they usually picture fights, car accidents, and frequent run-ins with the police. The truth is that excessive drinking can also lead to a completely different range of severe and potentially irreversible health issues, such as cancer, sexual dysfunction, and nutritional deficits. The more a person drinks and the longer they continue without quitting, the higher their risk of developing these problems. The dietary shortages due to alcohol use disorder, in particular, sometimes trigger a life-threatening condition called wet brain syndrome.
Wet brain syndrome, scientifically known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, is a brain disorder that triggers an underlying vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency. Since thiamine deficiency is a hallmark of alcoholism, the disorder commonly occurs in alcoholics as a long-term complication. While it is possible to reverse the symptoms of a wet brain with timely treatment, it may lead to irreversible damage if a timely diagnosis is not made. Hence, learning more about the disorder, how to identify it, and its long-term treatment is advisable.

