Alcohol-induced damage to the CNS

• Cerebellar degeneration – loss of Purkinje and granular cells from chronic alcohol abuse

• Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

  • Not so much due to alcohol, more due to thiamine deficiency often seen in alcoholics

  • The Wernicke part

    • Opthalmoplegia, nystagmus, ataxia, and mental disturbances, prostration

    • Look for shrunken, discolored mamillary bodies (other periventricular/periaqueductal regions can be affected)

    • Affected regions have neuronal loss, gliosis, and vascular proliferation

  • The Korsakoff part

    • Psychosis and memory disturbances; may be more EtOH-related

    • Lesions localized to dorsal medial thalamic nuclei

• Variable cerebral atrophy and ventricular dilation

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

  • Leading cause of preventable MR in America

  • 1^st few weeks after conception are critical; safe amount of EtOH unknown

  • Kids will have microencephaly, periventricular neurological heteropias, dilated ventricles, and reduced amounts of cerebral white matter

Category: Pathology Notes