Wernicke-Korsakoff amnestic syndrome secondary to malnutrition in a patient with schizoaffective disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The authors identify a rare case of Wernicke-Korsakoff amnestic syndrome and highlight its occurrence in the absence of alcohol dependence.

METHOD: A longitudinal case history of a patient with schizoaffective disorder who developed Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome secondary to malnutrition.

RESULTS: Refusal to eat based on persecutory delusions in chronic psychotic patients can cause malnutrition and result in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS: With increasing managed-care demands for outpatient treatment of chronic psychotic patients, physicians may see more cases of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome in psychiatric populations.