Alcohol Dementia

Alcohol Dementia is a neurological condition that results from the long term and/or excessive consumption of alcohol. When an individual consumes alcohol in a manner that is considered to be excessive to any degree, there are many different forms of neurological damage that takes place.

This condition is nearly always associated with the devastating medical condition that is identified by medical professionals as "Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome". Naturally, the sufferer of such a condition suffers from a large assortment of problems that are associated with the cognitive functioning. Interestingly enough, it has been discovered that as many as 10% of all individuals diagnosed with standard Dementia have a history that includes excessive degrees of alcohol use.

When diagnosing Alcohol Dementia, medical professionals typically find that the symptoms experienced by patients are the same as those that suffer from standard Dementia. As a matter of fact, when it comes to differences that are qualitative based, many doctors have found it is often challenging to determine if the patient is suffering from the devastating condition of Alzheimer's disease or Alcohol Dementia.

The specialist that is evaluating the individual has to acquire a detailed medical history of the patient, evaluate the medical conditions that are common within that patient's family history, and take the time to determine if there has been an excessive amount of alcohol use in the patient's life in order to appropriately diagnose this condition.

There are many symptoms associated with Alcohol Dementia. Naturally, most of these symptoms are considered to be neurological. They may include, but not at all limited to, deficits related to the cognitive functioning of the individual such as impairments with the memory, delays in the patient's ability to effectively recall information that has been previously learned, complications associated with learning information that is considered to be new to them, and the inability to recall memories that are both short term and long term.

In addition to these neurological based challenges, the sufferer of Alcohol Dementia may also suffer from disturbances associated with their language skills, issues with motor based activities, and challenges associated with functioning that is considered to be executive.

Common executive tasks include the ability to plan, the lack of organization, being unable to sequence appropriately, and also complications when it comes to the neurological ability to engage in abstracting. If you or someone you know seems to be suffering from the neurological aspects of Alcohol Dementia, it is important to ensure that medical attention is sought for proper treatment.