Alcohol-related brain damage and its relation to deshabituation treatment response
About
The chronic abuse of alcohol is significantly related to cognitive deterioration. This intense relationship is called Alcohol-Related Brain Damage (ARBD). ARBD has a high prevalence among patients who demand treatment for excessive consumption of alcohol, being detected in up to 78% of the autopsies performed. The clinical presentation of the ARBD is dimensional, the most serious cases reaching the degree of dementia. ARBD patients present alterations in the following cognitive functions: anterograde memory, executive function (decision making, temporal orientation, emotional judgments and verbal fluency) and visuospatial tasks. It is of great importance for clinicians to be able to assess ARBD in patients with alcohol dependence who demand treatment, since ARBD affects the ability to respond to the treatment.
In the multicenter study "Evaluation of executive function as a prognostic factor in patients with alcohol dependence who start outpatient treatment" funded by the Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs, of the Ministry of Social Services and Equality of the SpanishMinistry of Health Health (File Number: 2 el016I070) 111 patients with a diagnosis of Alcohol Dependence who started treatment of ambulatory detoxification were evaluated for ARBD versus 100 healthy volunteers. A systematized battery of cognitive tests was used.