Why does chronic alcohol abuse increase the risk of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, even with adequate caloric intake?

💡 Explanation

Alcohol interferes with thiamine absorption in the gut and its utilization in the brain because it damages the intestinal lining and impairs the thiamine transporter proteins. Therefore, thiamine deficiency becomes likely, rather than other vitamin imbalances, causing neurological damage characteristic of Wernicke-Korsakoff.

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