title: [Alcoholism in the elderly. A review of diagnosis, therapy and psychological effects].
abstract: Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are frequent disorders in the elderly. The disorders often develop as a response to burdensome life events which have to be treated specifically. Old alcoholics often respond well to age-specific interventions, if co-existing depressive symptoms are also treated. Because of the non-specific nature of the initial symptoms, the majority of the elderly alcoholics remain unrecognised during the diagnostic process. This review, therefore, gives a synopsis of clinical clues to alcoholism and associated psychic complications in elderly patients. Psychic complications in persistent alcoholism include Wernicke-Korsakow's syndrome, symptom patterns of delusions and hallucinations and specific types of organic brain syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Rheinische Kliniken Düsseldorf, Psychiatrische Klinik der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haupt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000425:Alcohol Amnestic Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003702:Delusions / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D013577:Syndrome; D014899:Wernicke Encephalopathy / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy
vernacular_title: Alkoholismus im Alter. Ein Uberblick über Diagnostik, Therapie und psychische Folgeschäden.