Computed tomography in chronic alcoholism.

A series of 327 chronic alcoholics was studied by computed tomography (CT) and compared with 419 age-matched controls. The inner and outer CSF spaces of the brain were measured in the two groups. The values obtained were tested by a stepwise discriminant analysis. On this basis the following six parameters proved to be the best signs for distinguishing chronic alcoholics from non-alcoholics: the widths of the third ventricle, of the cistern of the quadrigeminal plate, of the interhemispheric fissure, and of the parietal and temporal sulci, the Huckman number, and the presence or absence of cerebellar atrophy.