EFFECTS OF A HISTORY OF HEAVY ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION ON ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Neuropsychological and psychiatric evaluations were made of 39 subject s with possible Alzheimer's disease and a history of excessive alcohol consumption (AD + ETOH), who had been abstinent or had drunk minimall y for at least three months before evaluation, and 225 patients with p robable Alzheimer's disease (PAD) of comparable age, years of educatio n, and baseline global impairment. At baseline, there were no signific ant differences between the groups in terms of age of onset of dementi a, neuropsychological test scores, or current. behavioural or psychiat ric symptoms. One year later, no differences in rates of decline betwe en 20 abstinent AD + ETOH patients and 88 PAD subjects could be shown. Thus, past heavy alcohol consumption does not appear to modify the pr esentation of dementia of the Alzheimer's type, nor does it modify pro gression over a one-year interval.