Symptoms can include, but are not limited to lack of consciousness, aggression, seizures, depression, hemiparesis, ataxia, apraxia, coma, etc.

[citation needed] It is classically associated with chronic alcoholism especially with red wine consumption and sometimes associated nutritional deficiencies.

The mechanism of the disease is not completely understood, but it is believed to be caused by a Vitamin B deficiency, malnutrition, or alcohol use disorder.

[7] Marchiafava–Bignami disease is routinely diagnosed with the use of magnetic resonance imaging because the majority of clinical symptoms are non-specific.

The patient usually has a history of alcohol use disorder or malnutrition and neurological symptoms are sometimes present and can help lead to a diagnosis.

[8] Type B is characterized by normal or only mildly impaired mental status and radiologic imaging shows only partial lesions in the corpus callosum.

It is believed that he had protein, folic acid, and thiamine deficiencies, which are what caused the demyelination of the corpus callosum.

[6] In a study published in 2016, a 45-year-old patient was observed to have taken high amounts of alcohol intake over 20 years and was malnourished.