Neuropsychological impairments in a young-onset Marchiafava–Bignami disease with alcohol-dependence syndrome

Abstract

The neuropsychological aspects of Marchiafava–Bignami disease (MBD) have not been reported in detail in the medical literature, despite various reports mentioning that chronic alcoholism is the most common etiology for the same. The condition is predominant in men around the fourth to sixth decades with a mean age of 45 years. To the best of our knowledge, we report a case of early onset of MBD in a 32-year-old man diagnosed with alcohol-dependence syndrome, who presented with cognitive impairment, behavioral issues, and gait abnormalities after a period of loss of consciousness of around 4 days. Along with symptomatic treatment, the patient was given thiamine supplementation, parenteral for a week, followed by oral thiamine. There was a slow improvement in his cognitive symptoms, while the rest of the symptoms improved within a month of starting medications.