Substance-induced Persisting Dementia

Substance-induced Persisting Dementia

In instances in which the features of dementia result from central nervous system effects of a medication, toxin, or drug of abuse (including alcohol), the diagnosis of dementia due to the persist-ing effects of a substance should be made (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The most common dementias in this category are those associated with alcohol abuse, accounting for about 10% of all dementias. The diagnosis of alcohol abuse dementia requires that the cognitive changes persist after the cessation of alcohol use and are not the result of changes in mentation as-sociated with early abstinence, amnestic episodes (blackouts), or Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome. In addition to various nutri-tional deficiencies and the toxic effects of alcohol itself, alcohol abusers are more prone to develop dementia as a result of head trauma and chronic hepatic encephalopathy.