[2] Certain individuals with alcohol-related dementia present with damage to the frontal lobes of their brain causing disinhibition, loss of planning and executive functions, and a disregard for the consequences of their behavior.
[2] Individuals affected by alcohol-related dementia may develop memory problems, language impairment, and an inability to perform complex motor tasks such as getting dressed.
Heavy alcohol consumption also damages the nerves in arms and legs, i.e. peripheral neuropathy, as well as the cerebellum that controls coordination thereby leading to the development of cerebellar ataxia.
[3] Alcohol-related dementia can produce a variety of psychiatric problems including psychosis (disconnection from reality), depression, anxiety, and personality changes.
Patients with alcoholic dementia often develop apathy, related to frontal lobe damage, that may mimic depression.
[6] Some of these warning signs may include memory loss, difficulty performing familiar tasks, poor or impaired judgment and problems with language.
[8] Diagnosing alcohol-related dementia can be difficult due to the wide range of symptoms and a lack of specific brain pathology.
[11] Oslin's proposed classification of ARD: At the current time there are no acceptable criteria to definitively define alcohol-related dementia.
The onset and the severity of this type of dementia is directly correlated to the amount of alcohol that a person consumes over their lifetime.
[13] Sex appears to be a risk factor for cognitive impairment, with females being more susceptible despite lower alcohol intake.