title: Subtle cognitive deficits in severe alcohol addicts--do they show a specific profile?
abstract: Although alcohol dependency is a burden to society, data on cognitive performance in therapy-resistant patients after multiple withdrawals are poor. In this study, 22 patients without reported cognitive deficits and 20 control subjects performed extensive cognitive testing and a motor task assessing short-term memory. Patients displayed subtle deficits (mainly in executive function), while memory functions were relatively unimpaired. Our results suggest that subtle frontal-executive deficits may contribute to a poor prognosis, but could be missed by routine clinical tests.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Wollenweber
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Halfter
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brügmann
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: Edna C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Cieslik
authors.forename: Veronika I
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hardwick
authors.forename: Simon B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Eickhoff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests