Alcohol Use Could Contribute to Dementia By Damaging The Brain

This Study Was A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Autopsy Study driving in Brazil. Researchers Were Uble to examine The Brains of 1,781 participants.

These openings were Ultimately from the Sao Paulo Autopsy Service and Part of the Biobank for Aging Studies. It spectifiable exludes brain samples where suone died to trauma.

The Average Age of Participants Was Around Seventy-Five Years Old, and The Sample was Ethnically Diverse. Participants were at least Fifty and had a next of kin Who Had Been Contacting Them at Least Weekly in the 6 months Before their Death.

DID DECLUDE SUB POTENTIAL PARTICIPES, INCLUDING THOSE WITH MAJOR ACTE BRAIN LESIONS OR TOSE WHO DID NOT HAV ANY DATA ON ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION.

Researchers Were Uble to Gather Data From Next of Kin Regarding Factors Like Participants’ Medical Histories, Alcohol Consumption, and The Presence of Dementia.

They divided participants into groups based on the level of alcohol they consumed. There Were Never Drinkers, Moderate Drinkers, Heavy Drinkers, and Formerly Heavy Drinkers.

For This Research, 1 dose of alcohol was 14 grams (g). Moderate Drinkers had up to 7 doses of alcohol in a week, While Heavy Drinkers had 8 or more doses in a week.

Former Heavy Drinkers Were Heavy Drinkers Who Had Ceased Drinking Up To 3 Months Before their Deaths Occurred. Of all participants, 965 Never consumed alcohol.

Refecchers Than Saught To examine The Brains For Several Changes, Including Thos that indicated Alzheimer’s Disease. They were Also Able to Determine Brain Weight.

Overall, The Results Showed Worse Outcomes Related to Alcohol Consumption.

Researchers adjusted for clinical variables and sociodemographic data, and Found that moderate, heavy drinkers, and former heavy drinkers were at a a Greater Risk for Having Hyaline Arteriolosclerosis Compared to participants Who Never Had Drunk Alcohol.

Heavy Drinkers Were Specifically AT 133% Increased Risk for Hyaline Arteriolosclerosis. Heavy and Former Heavy Drinkers Were Also at an Increased Risk for Neurofibrillary Tangles, Which Are Related to Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology.

Former Heavy Drinkers Also Had Lower Brain Weights. They had slightly Higher average clinical dementia rating scores compared to Never-Drinkers. In This Case, Higher Scores Indicate Worse Cognitive Function. There Was no Association Between Heavy and Moderate Drinking and Cognitive Function.

The Findings Also indicated that drinking alcohol did not have an overall or direct effect on People’s cognitive abilities. INSERED, FOUND THAT REMOATHERS ARTERIOLOSCLEROSIS MEDIED ​​THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND COGNITIVE ABILISTIES.

This could indicate that alcohol Affects Hyaline arteriolosclerosis, which with may apfect aspects of brain function.

Haris Kamal, MD, A Neurologist at Memorial Hermann, Who Was Not Involved in This Research, Note The Following About The Study Findings To Medical News Today:

“The Effect of alcohol on the human brain is dependent on multiple factors such a age, Number of Years of Heavy Alcohol Use, Overall Health, Nutritional Intake etc. Smallest Arteries in the Brain;

The Research Does have submitations. For One, Had to Rely On Family For Information such Information and Data on Participants’ Drinking Habs.

It is postible that also reports from Next of Kin Were Inaccureate. They Also Mised “Longitudinal Follow-Up Data” Before participants’ Deaths, Such as on How Long Participants Had Been Consuming Alcohol.

Furthermore, This Study Focused on People in One Country, So Data From Other Countries May Also Be Useful in Drawing Stronger Conclusions.

The Study Did Find That Heavy Drinkers Were More Likely to Die Early But Had Lower Frequency of High Blood Pressure, Neuropathologic Lesions, and Stroke When Researchers Did The Univariate Analysis. The Authors Think This could be schouse of survival bias, which is Linked To Lower Life Expercy In This Demographic.

Researchers Also Note That since the Study Was Cross-section, It Does Not Show Causality. The Study’s Cross-Sectional Nature Also Did Not Allow Them to look at the long-term Effects of Components Like Heavy Drinking.

Moreover, it is postible that reverse causality is part of the reason for certainty results, Such as Why They Observed Cognitive Problems in Former Heavy Drinkers.

Finally, Did Not examine participants’ vitamin deficiencies, which could have amplified the observitive decline. Future Studies Should Take Vitamin Status into Account.

Study Author Alberto Justo, PHD, A Researcher at The University of São Paulo Medical School, Told MNT That: “Future Research Should Focus on Cohort Studies to Better Understand the Causal Relationships Between Alcohol Consumption and Brain Changes Over Time. This Research Will Help Clarify How Different Levels and Durations of Alcohol Intake Affect Cognitive Health.”

Tony Thrasher, DO, MBA, CPE, DFAPA, WHO WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THIS REESARCH, ALSO CAUTIONED THAT:

“While there were Limitations (Well documed) Pertaining to the Thoroughness of Data Collection (From Next of Kin) and longitudinal Knowledge of Said Alcohol Consumption, The Overall Numbers Are Fairly Striky. Multiple Years Earlier When compared to notndrinkers.

So Far, The Data Indicate Sub Very Real Potential Dangers That Alcohol Consumption Can To The Brain. Just Note That:

“Our Study Found That Even Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Lead To Vascular Changes In the Brain, Such As Hyaline Arteriolosclerosis. We also observed that former heavy drinkers had reduced brain mass and poorer cognitive abilities. Significantly impact brain health.

The Findings Could Be Highly Relay to Clinical Practice Down The Road.

“Clinical potential Implications of This Study Are The Finding That Heavy Alcohol Use or A History of Heavy Alcohol Use Can Lead to Accelerat Subcortical Disease In The Brain Which Would manifest as a cognitive unpaid,” Kamal.

“Such People Over Time May Progressively Demonstrate Paucity/Slowness of Thought, Memory Issues, Trouble With Executive Functioning etc.