CT measures of cerebrospinal fluid volume in alcoholics and normal volunteers.

Cranial computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained in 46 male chronic alcoholics and 31 normal male volunteers. Automated methods were used to estimate the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume in various intracranial zones. Measures of the ventricular fluid volume, the volume of fluid in cortical areas on CT sections at the level of the ventricles, and the sulcal fluid volumes on two convexity sections were computed. The alcoholic group, excluding subjects with chronic liver disease, had significantly more fluid than the control group on all sulcal measures. The group difference on the ventricular measure fell short of significance. Within the alcoholic group, no significant correlation was found between the number of years of alcoholism and any fluid measure when normal age effects were taken into account. A striking degree of variability in the sulcal volumes was observed within the alcoholic group, with many subjects showing normal values while a large group showed markedly elevated values. Further studies will be necessary to determine the significance of these variations.