Family history of alcoholism and cognitive recovery in subacute withdrawal.
A family history of alcoholism has been demonstrated to be an important factor affecting cognitive function. However, no studies have yet been conducted to compare cognitive recovery of family history-positive (FH+) and family history-negative (FH-) alcoholics in the subacute withdrawal period. To tackle this problem, a neuropsychological test battery consisting of six computerized tests was administered to 19 FH+ and 20 FH- alcoholics at 2 and 7 weeks after abstinence. At 2 weeks after abstinence, overall performance of both FH+ and FH- groups was significantly poorer than that of healthy controls. At 7 weeks, these performances tended to recover, but in Trail Making A and Figure Position, performances of FH+ alcoholics remained worse than those of controls, while those of FH- alcoholics did not. Thus cognitive recovery during the subacute withdrawal period was worse among FH+ alcoholics than FH- alcoholics, and this finding should be considered when planning alcohol rehabilitation programs.
Moriyama
Yasushi
Y
Department of Psychiatry, Komagino Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. yamori@rg7.so-net.ne.jp
Muramatsu
Taro
T
Kato
Motoichiro
M
Mimura
Masaru
M
Kashima
Haruo
H
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000235:genetics* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D013695:Temperance
D000431:Ethanol