Normalization of regional cerebral blood flow in alcoholics during the first 7 weeks of abstinence

Twenty-two institutionalized alcoholics were studied after 1, 3, 5 and 7 weeks of abstinence with measurements of the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), psychometric testing and clinical ratings. Twenty-two healthy volunteers served as age-matched controls. Mean rCBF was significantly reduced in the alcoholics at all measurements compared to the controls. The older alcoholics (median cut) showed a 9% increase of rCBF from the 1st to the 7th week (P less than 0.01). The mean rCBF in these alcoholics also increased more in the right than in the left hemisphere (P less than 0.05) during the investigation. The differences between the alcoholics and the controls were most pronounced in the right frontal lobe. The mean flow changes were correlated to improvement in clinical state. Right hemisphere and frontal lobe flow decreases were more accentuated in older alcoholics.