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Brain lesions in alcoholics. A neuropathological study with clinical correlations
Torvik A, Lindboe CF, Rogde S.. Journal of the neurological sciences, 1982-11-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Among 8735 autopsies performed during a 5-year period at Ullevål Hospital in Oslo there were 70 cases of Wernicke's encephalopathy (0.8%) and 152 cases of alcoholic cerebellar atrophy (1.7%). Cerebellar atrophy was found in 26.8% of all examined alcoholics. Twenty-two of the cases with Wernicke's encephalopathy were active (acute and subacute) and 48 were inactive (chronic). Examination of the clinical records showed that stupor and coma were the dominating symptoms in active cases. A pure Korsakoff's psychosis with a selective memory defect was present in about one-third of the cases with inactive encephalopathy while the remaining had more or less pronounced global dementia ("alcoholic dementia"). It is suggested that inactive Wernicke's encephalopathy is the main underlying lesion both in Korsakoff's psychosis and "alcoholic dementia" but that additional lesions are present in the latter group. The brain weight in 545 male alcoholics was compared with that of 586 controls. Cases with non-alcoholic brain lesions were excluded from both groups. In alcoholics the brain weight was significantly lower than in controls in all age groups below 70 years. The mean weight difference was 31 g. The study thus confirmed the existence of a generalized alcoholic brain atrophy.
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APA 7th
Torvik, A., Lindboe, C. F., & Rogde, S. (1982). Brain lesions in alcoholics. A neuropathological study with clinical correlations. Journal of the neurological sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510x(82)90145-9
Vancouver
Torvik A, Lindboe CF, Rogde S. Brain lesions in alcoholics. A neuropathological study with clinical correlations. Journal of the neurological sciences. 1982. doi:10.1016/0022-510x(82)90145-9. PMID: 7175549.
BibTeX
@article{torvik1982-7175549,
author = {Torvik, A. and Lindboe, C. F. and Rogde, S.},
title = {{Brain lesions in alcoholics. A neuropathological study with clinical correlations}},
journal = {Journal of the neurological sciences},
year = {1982},
doi = {10.1016/0022-510x(82)90145-9},
pmid = {7175549},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510x(82)90145-9}
}
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Key findings
- Examination of the clinical records showed that stupor and coma were the dominating symptoms in active cases.
- It is suggested that inactive Wernicke's encephalopathy is the main underlying lesion both in Korsakoff's psychosis and "alcoholic dementia" but that additional lesions are present in the latter group.
- The brain weight in 545 male alcoholics was compared with that of 586 controls.
- In alcoholics the brain weight was significantly lower than in controls in all age groups below 70 years.
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Study details
- Effect size0.8%; 1.7%; 26.8%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the neurological sciences) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1982 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 7175549) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 23 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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