NMR T1 Relaxation Time of the Brain During Alcohol Withdrawal and its Lack of Relationship with Symptom Severity

Abstract
A significant fall in brain T1 relaxation time, consistent with a reduction in brain water of approximately 0.3%, occurred in 19 chronic alcoholic patients admitted for detoxification. There was no correlation between T1 and the severity of withdrawal symptoms and hence no evidence that changes in brain water levels contributed to the abstinence syndrome.