Document Detail


Using magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to assess brain damage in alcoholics.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  15303625     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Brain imaging using conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed that several brain structures in people with a history of chronic alcohol dependence are smaller in volume than the same brain structures in nonalcoholic control subjects. Areas that are particularly affected are the frontal lobes, which are involved in reasoning, judgment, and problem solving. Older people are especially vulnerable to the damaging effects of alcohol. It is unclear whether women show consistently more vulnerability to these changes in the brain than men do. In general, alcoholics evaluated before and after a period of abstinence show some recovery of tissue volume, whereas alcoholics evaluated again after continued drinking show further reductions in brain tissue volume. A new MR technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can aid in detecting the degradation of fibers (i.e., white matter) that carry information between brain cells (i.e., gray matter). With DTI, researchers studying alcoholics have been able to detect abnormalities in white matter not visible with conventional MRI. Ultimately DTI may be useful in elucidating the mechanisms that underlie macrostructural and functional brain changes seen with abstinence and relapse.
Authors:
Margaret Rosenbloom; Edith V Sullivan; Adolf Pfefferbaum
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Alcohol research & health : the journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism     Volume:  27     ISSN:  1535-7414     ISO Abbreviation:  Alcohol Res Health     Publication Date:  2003  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2004-08-11     Completed Date:  2004-08-26     Revised Date:  2007-11-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100900708     Medline TA:  Alcohol Res Health     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  146-52     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Alcoholism / pathology*
Brain / pathology*
Brain Damage, Chronic / diagnosis*
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
Humans
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
AA-05965/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS; AA-10723/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS; AA-12388/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS; AA-12999/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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