Abstracting capacity in cirrhotic alcoholics: negative findings.

OBJECTIVE

Alcoholic and nonalcoholic cirrhotics and normal controls were compared to determine the extent to which the cognitive deficits frequently observed in alcoholics are attributable to hepatic encephalopathy.

METHOD

A battery of neuropsychological tests was administered measuring verbal and nonverbal abstracting capacity.

RESULTS

No significant differences between the three groups were observed. Both the alcoholic (n = 43) and nonalcoholic (n = 63) subjects performed comparably to normal controls (n = 21) and the former two groups performed comparably to each other on seven indicators of abstracting capacity.

CONCLUSIONS

Deficits in reasoning ability are not invariably associated with chronic alcoholism. In addition, low grade hepatic encephalopathy concomitant to cirrhosis in both alcoholics and nonalcoholics does not impact adversely on abstracting capacity.