Marchiafava-Bignami disease as a cause of toxic leukoencephalopathy in a 27-year-old patient: a case report

Abstract

Marchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) is an uncommon neurological disorder characterized by corpus callosum demyelination and necrosis, primarily associated with alcohol use disorder and vitamin deficiencies, notably thiamine. We present the case of a 27-year-old female who was diagnosed by MRI after developing stroke-like symptoms, and was found to have undetectable serum thiamine concentrations, likely due to alcohol use disorder and noncompliance with prescribed vitamin supplements after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. She was prescribed thiamine supplementation, and upon follow-up one month later, she had no residual neurological deficits. MBD is a rare cause of stroke-like symptoms, and thorough medical and surgical history is needed in patients who may not be in the typical age range for development of the disease.

Keywords

• Marchiafava-Bignami disease
• thiamine
• toxic leukoencephalopathy
• MRI
• case report