Review Article
Year: 2019 | Month: May | Volume: 9 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 376-380
Brief Review on Alcohol Related Dementia; Scope of Occupational Therapy
Dr. Parag Sawant1, Dr. Preetee Gokhale 2
1Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy School & Centre, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital, Sion, Mumbai, India
2Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy School & Centre, Seth G.S. Medical College & K.E.M. Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, India
Corresponding Author: Dr. Parag Sawant
ABSTRACT
This article is an effort to review course and impact of Alcohol related dementia following chronic alcoholism. It is well established that excessive and prolonged alcohol use can lead to permanent damage to the structure and function of the brain. There is not much literature on the characteristics of a dementia syndrome related to sustained alcohol abuse. Alcoholism causes a multitude of social and health problems with negative impact on quality of life and secondary costs to society. Cognitive impairments observed in alcohol-dependent patients not presenting any other neurological complications are increasingly becoming the focus of attention amongst medical fraternity. Alcohol Related Dementia has little recognition as a discrete clinical entity and this is due to lack of a distinct pathophysiological profile. However, autopsy evaluations suggest that up to 78% of individuals with diagnosed alcoholism demonstrate some degree of brain pathology leading to minimal cognitive impairment. Assessment tool like Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Test appears to be the most appropriate screening test for detection of cognitive impairments in these patients. It is mostly irreversible condition but a period of several months of abstinence allows some improvement of cognitive functions with targeted Occupational Therapy intervention. This results in improving Quality of life of patients with diagnosis of Alcohol dependence.
Key words: Alcohol related dementia, Minimal cognitive impairment, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Occupational Therapy, Cognitive rehabilitation.