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Case Reports
. 2024 Jun 6;16(6):e61783.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.61783. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Wernicke Encephalopathy Associated With Semaglutide Use

Krishna Sheth  1 , Elizabeth Garza  2 , Ajith Saju  1 , Natasha Nazir  1 , Aditya Agarwal  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Wernicke Encephalopathy Associated With Semaglutide Use

Krishna Sheth et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

A patient presenting to the emergency room with neurological symptoms is more commonly found to have manifestations of stroke, transient ischemic attack, or nervous system injury. Alcoholic Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) is also another common manifestation of neurological dysfunction; however, the prevalence of non-alcoholic WE is relatively uncommon. We discuss a 37-year-old male who presented to the ED with dysphagia, slurred speech, word-finding difficulty, and restricted extraocular movements from non-alcoholic WE in the setting of semaglutide use.

Keywords: encephalopathy; non-alcoholic wernicke encephalopathy; ozempic; semaglutide; wernicke encephalopathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. MRI brain without contrast revealed symmetrical signal abnormalities involving the basal ganglia (red arrow), thalamus (blue arrow), and brainstem (green arrow)
MRI: magnetic resonance imaging
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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