Cognitive impairments of alcoholic cirrhotic patients: correlation with endogenous benzodiazepine receptor ligands and increased affinity of platelet receptors.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether differences in cognitive function between alcoholic and non-alcoholic cirrhotic patients relate to differences in endogenous ligands for the benzodiazepine receptor and/or benzodiazepine binding. METHODS: Seventeen grade-I hepatic encephalopathic patients (nine alcoholic, eight non-alcoholic) were compared with 10 matched controls on plasma concentrations of endogenous ligands for the neuronal benzodiazepine …