Wet brain, caused by a thiamine deficiency, can lead to confusion, ataxia, hallucinations, and confabulations. It can be caused by alcoholism or poor diet. Early treatment is possible, but advanced cases can be fatal. Alcoholics may mistake symptoms for intoxication. Thiamine is essential for glucose conversion, and without it, brain function deteriorates. Treatment is more effective for nonalcoholics. Severe alcoholism can cause irreversible damage, leading to fatal complications.
Wet brain, also known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, is caused when the body is deficient in thiamine, also known as vitamin B1. Without sufficient levels of thiamine, the brain cannot function normally. Individuals suffering from wet brain can exhibit a wide range of symptoms: they may appear confused; have ataxia or lack of muscle coordination; or even experience hallucinations and confabulations. The early stages of wet brain are treatable, although not fully reversible. If the syndrome is too advanced, the symptoms can be permanent and can prove fatal.
Deficiency is often the result of alcoholism, which decreases the liver’s ability to process nutrients over time. It can also be caused by poor diet and any condition that affects the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. In nonalcoholics, symptoms of wet brain can be easy to identify quickly: An erratic gait, confusion, and faulty memories would certainly seem evident in someone with no prior health problems. In alcoholics, however, the symptoms may go unnoticed for a while, mistaken for signs of intoxication.
In addition to looking confused, people with wet brains can also show severe signs of dementia. They may exhibit confabulations, which are false memories that the individual believes in and builds upon. Confabulations can become so ingrained that individuals could invent entire scenarios based on an event that never happened. Individuals may also experience hallucinations and an increasing detachment from reality.
Wet brain can also affect eye function. An individual may lose control over eye movement. The eyes may become increasingly insensitive to light, with sluggish tracking abilities. Pupil size may also start to look uneven.
Wet brain syndrome is so harmful because the brain needs thiamine to help convert one of the brain’s most essential nutrients: glucose. The brain is unable to store emergency glucose supplies and therefore needs a constant supply from the body. Therefore, without sufficient levels of thiamine, the brain cannot get the amount of glucose it needs and functions start to go awry.
If identified early enough, wet brain can be partially reversed with large doses of thiamine. This is more likely in individuals who developed the syndrome from poor eating habits or a treatable gastrointestinal problem. In alcoholics, however, the situation may be more serious. Alcoholism ravages the liver, which plays an important role in processing thiamine. Severe alcoholism causes enough damage that thiamine deficiencies are irreversible. In such cases, wet brain syndrome, along with other alcohol-related complications, can be fatal.
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