Separating cognitive impairment in neurologically asymptomatic alcoholism from Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome: is the neuropsychological distinction justified?

Abstract

Recent studies that have combined neuropathological data and clinical histories in a retrospective fashion have shown that Wernicke-Korsakoff neuropathology is often unsuspected antemortem and that, in terms of clinical presentation, it is more heterogeneous than previously assumed. Thus, many studies of neurologically normal alcoholics may have been confounded by the inclusion of patients with neurologically asymptomatic Wernicke-Korsakoff neuropathology. Postmortem and in vivo studies have shown that alcoholics, irrespective of neurological diagnosis, have widespread pathology involving many cortical and subcortical sites. In addition, clinical studies have indicated that, like neurologically asymptomatic alcoholics, alcoholic Korsakoff patients may enjoy substantial recovery in cognitive function. Furthermore, the common research strategy of identifying a subset of neurologically diagnosed Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome as a discrete group of "pure" Korsakoff's amnesia by using a definitional IQ-Wechsler Memory Scale quotient difference may have created a neuropsychological stereotype that is not representative of the broader clinical group. In light of these considerations, the separate treatment of cognitive impairment in groups of alcoholics distinguished by the clinical signs of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome may not be justified.