Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on August 15, 2006
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2006 41(6):678-680; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agl054
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CASE REPORT
MULTIPLE CEREBRAL METASTASES MIMICKING WERNICKE'S ENCEPHALOPATHY IN A CHRONIC ALCOHOLIC
1 Psychiatric University Clinic and 2 Department of Radiology, University of Basel, Switzerland
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Psychiatric University Clinic, University of Basel, Wilhelm-Klein-Strasse 27, CH-4025 Basel, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 61 325 51 12; Fax: +41 61 325 55 83; E-mail: friedrich.wurst{at}upkbs.ch
(Received 27 February 2006; first review notified 9 March 2006; in revised form 15 June 2006; accepted 15 June 2006)
Aims: Alcohol dependent patients in withdrawal display a wide spectrum of neurological and neuropsychological symptoms that complicate diagnosis. We report the case of a 53-year-old male alcoholic with disorientation, ataxia and nystagmus in alcohol withdrawal probably due not to initial supposed Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) but rather due to multiple cerebral metastases of a non-small cell cancer of the lung. Results: The findings illustrate the importance of initially maintaining a tentative attitude toward causation of symptoms and the role of brain imaging in formulating an accurate diagnosis.
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