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Cerebral atrophy and functional deficits in alcoholics without clinically apparent liver disease

Department of Medicine, Addiction Research Foundation Clinical Institute (Drs. Carlen, Wilkinson, Cordingley, Lee, Huszar, Moddel, Singh, Kiraly, and Rankin) Toronto Western Hospital (Playfair Neuroscience Unit) (Drs. Carlen and Lee) and the Department of Radiology, Toronto General Hospital (Drs. Wortzman and Holgate), University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Ninety-seven chronic alcoholics, both impaired and unimpaired, without clinically evident liver disease, showed significantly more cerebral atrophy on computed tomography than age-matched neurologic controls. Age was the variable most highly correlated with cerebral atrophy measurements, and it accounted for most of the correlations between atrophy and functional impairment, except in the Wernicke-amnesic group. Analysis of the slopes of atrophy scores versus age showed a more rapid "rate" of development of cerebral atrophy in alcoholics compared with controls. There were no correlations between liver biopsy scores (51 cases), drinking history (47 cases), or dietary intake (39 cases) and cerebral atrophy measurements.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Carlen, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2S1, Canada

Presented in part at the twenty-eighth annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Toronto, Canada, April 1976.

This study was supported in part by the Non-Medical Use of Drugs Directorate of Canada.

Accepted for publication July 15, 1980.

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