Peripheral neuropathy, cerebral atrophy, and intellectual impairment in chronic alcoholics

Peripheral neuropathy, cerebral atrophy, and intellectual impairment was investigated in 46 males with alcoholic nervous system damage. An overall correlation was found between peripheral neuropathy and cerebral atrophy and between several of the individual neurophysiological and neuroradiological variables examined. There was also a correlation between cerebral atrophy and intellectual impairment. The findings support the view that alcohol in itself is toxic to central and peripheral nervous tissues, although a dose-response dependence could not be established.