Brain SPECT findings in Wernicke's encephalopathy.

Wernicke's encephalopathy, a neurologic disease caused by thiamine deficiency, is observed chiefly in chronic alcoholics. We performed magnetic resonance imaging and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in an alcoholic patient who had developed Wernicke's encephalopathy. Although cranial MRI detected no pathology, brain SPECT revealed bilateral frontal and frontoparietal hypoperfusion as well as right basal ganglia hypoperfusion.