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Improvement in Cognitive Functioning of Alcoholics Following Orthotopic Liver Transplantation
Author(s) -
Arria Amelia M.,
Tarter Ralph E.,
Starzl Thomas E.,
Thiel David H. Van
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1991.tb05195.x
Subject(s) - cirrhosis , alcoholic liver disease , liver transplantation , hepatic encephalopathy , transplantation , psychomotor learning , encephalopathy , cognition , medicine , orthotopic liver transplantation , psychology , gastroenterology , psychiatry
Cognitive functioning in alcoholic cirrhotics before and 1 year following orthotopic liver transplantation was compared with age‐ and sex‐matched normal subjects. The alcoholic group improved significantly following transplantation on tests measuring psychomotor, visuo‐practic and abstracting abilities whereas the performance of normal controls remained virtually unchanged. In contrast, memory capacity in alcoholics with cirrhosis did not statistically improve following successful transplantation. Further investigation, using more sophisticated measures of memory function, are required to determine whether memory deficits are either associated with alcohol neuro‐toxicity or an irreversible component of hepatic encephalopathy. These findings suggest that a reversible hepatic encephalopathy underlies many of the neuropsychologic deficits observed in cirrhotic alcoholics and can be ameliorated following successful liver transplantation.