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Glite Dictionary
Korsakoff's syndrome

Korsakoff's syndrome

1 8.6
A long-lasting memory disorder that prevents making new memories but keeps older memories, often after heavy drinking
  • noun
  • /ˈkɔrsəˌkɔfs ˈsɪnˌdroʊm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : síndrome de Korsakoff
  • Doctors often diagnose Korsakoff's syndrome in individuals with a history of alcohol abuse.

Examples

  • The patient was diagnosed with Korsakoff's syndrome following years of heavy drinking and poor nutrition.

  • Many patients with Korsakoff's syndrome struggle to remember recent events.

  • Because of his Korsakoff's syndrome, he struggled to remember recent events but could recall details from his childhood.

  • Doctors noted that people with Korsakoff's syndrome often confabulate to fill gaps in their memory.

  • Many patients with Korsakoff's syndrome struggle to recall recent events, despite having intact long-term memories.

  • Doctors often diagnose Korsakoff's syndrome in patients with a history of severe alcohol abuse.

  • Patients with Korsakoff's syndrome may create elaborate false narratives to fill gaps in their memory.

Synonyms

Korsakoff syndrome
vsKorsakoff's syndrome
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A brain disorder from long heavy drinking and lack of vitamin B1 that causes severe memory loss

is the preferred standard name used in clinical texts rather than variant spellings
Korsakov's syndrome
vsKorsakoff's syndrome
  • Specialized
9.9

A long-lasting memory problem often after heavy drinking that makes a person lose recent memories but keep older ones

is the standard clinical spelling rather than that variant
Korsakoff's psychosis
vsKorsakoff's syndrome
  • Specialized
9.1

Long-lasting memory problem with severe short-term memory loss caused by long-term heavy drinking

is broader, covering the disorder at any stage rather than only late cases
Korsakov's psychosis
vsKorsakoff's syndrome
  • Specialized
9.9

A long-lasting memory disorder after heavy drinking that makes people forget recent events but remember older ones

is the general clinical term for the same memory loss not limited to dependence
alcoholic dementia
vsKorsakoff's syndrome
  • Specialized
7.8

A kind of memory loss caused by many years of heavy drinking that affects recent memories but not old ones

is the specific thiamine deficiency syndrome with preserved long term memory
alcohol amnestic disorder
vsKorsakoff's syndrome
  • Specialized
9.1

A serious loss of recent memory after long term heavy drinking while older memories stay

is the specific neuropsychiatric syndrome caused by vitamin deficiency rather than general dementia
polyneuritic psychosis
vsKorsakoff's syndrome
  • Archaic
9.9

A serious memory problem where heavy long-term drinkers lose recent memories but keep old ones

is the specific thiamine related syndrome rather than any final stage dementia

Surface Forms

Korsakoff's syndrome singular
Korsakoff's syndromes plural

Morphology

Korsakoff's + syndrome

This is an eponymic medical term: 'Korsakoff's' is a proper name and 'syndrome' only signals a set of symptoms, so knowing the constituent words does not allow a learner to infer the specific chronic memory-disorder meaning. The label requires specialized medical or encyclopedic knowledge rather than compositional interpretation, so it is not transparently deducible.

Etymology

Korsakoff's syndrome is named after a Russian doctor, Sergei Korsakoff, who first wrote about this memory illness. He described people who 'could not make new memories' but could remember old things, so the name now means a long-term memory disorder often linked to heavy drinking and lack of vitamin B1.