Alcoholic organic brain disease: Nosology and pathophysiologic mechanisms

Peter R. Martin, Bryon Adinoff, Herbert Weingartner, Anil B. Mukherjee, Michael J. Eckardt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

70 Scopus citations

Abstract

1. 1. Study of alcoholic chronic organic brain syndrome may have applicability to the large population of alcoholics with less severe cerebral dysfunction. 2. 2. Brain Impairment in alcoholics may be conceptualized as two clinically and neuropathologlcally distinguishable organic brain syndromes: alcohol amnestic disorder or Korsakoff's psychosis (KP) and alcoholic dementia. 3. 3. Alcoholic organic brain disease may result from two interacting pathophysiological processes: nutritional (thiamine) deficiency and ethanol neurotoxicity. 4. 4. Subcortical periventricular lesions associated with KP result primarily from thiamine deficiency, whereas ethanol neurotoxicity and various secondary effects of alcoholism may contribute to the cortical neuropathological changes associated with alcoholic dementia. 5. 5. These two patterns of brain damage may be differentiable in individual alcoholics using cognitive tests and other measures of CNS function and, therefore, allow selection of a treatment strategy based on pathophysiological considerations. 6. 6. Studies in animals and humans suggest that a genetic predisposition to thiamine.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)147-164
Number of pages18
JournalProgress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1986

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Biological Psychiatry

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