title: CT demonstration of the early effects of alcohol on the brain.
abstract: CT evidence of brain damage has been sought in subjects consuming alcohol between 10 g/day to over 200 g/day. Dietary contributing factors have been evaluated. The level of atrophy (shrinkage) has been correlated with intellectual performance. To establish a relationship between alcohol intake and brain structure and function, re-examination of subjects over a 6- to 12-month period of abstinence has been undertaken to examine any reversibility features. A record of liver function showed that brain damage always precedes liver damage. Subjects were re-examined a second time, who had initially abstained for six months and then had returned either to their original level of consumption or to one that was somewhat reduced. A regression in initial improvement was considered evidence of reversible brain damage that had originally been related to alcohol. The threshold consumption for CT damage was 40 g/day, but the level of CT atrophy at which cognitive dysfunction appeared has still to be established.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013831:Thiamine / Q000097:blood; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D013831:Thiamine