Surgical treatment of obesity, which is now being proposed as an alternative treatment for the obesity epidemic, can cause a severe vitamin deficiency, so severe that the patient risks developing memory loss and other nervous system damage.

A syndrome called Wernicke's encephalopathy affects the nervous system and the brain in particular. The result of this disease is the inability to coordinate movements.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, says that the reason for this is a severe vitamin B1 deficiency or as it is also called - thiamine.

Scientists described about 32 cases of severe Wernick syndrome in patients who underwent an operation to reduce the volume of the stomach for weight loss. 27 patients were women.

The results of the study do not indicate that the syndrome develops more often in women, since the samples are not initially equal: about 75% of patients undergoing surgical treatment of obesity are women.

According to experts, the results of surgical treatment of obesity can be very high, but it is worth weighing the risks and limiting the use of this method in favor of cases in which otherwise the patient can not lose weight can not.

Most patients became ill a few months after the operation and the symptoms were quite severe, including memory disorders. To treat the syndrome, vitamin B1 was used in injections. In 13 patients there was a recovery, while the rest continued to suffer from neurological disorders and memory loss.

The head of the study, Dr. Sonal Singh, says that more research is needed to identify the incidence of such complications among operated patients.

Medicinform. Net.

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