Even Moderate Alcohol Use
May Cause Brain Damage

Consuming even low to moderate amounts of alcohol may be linked to decreased brain size in middle-aged adults, according to a recent study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study also showed that low to moderate alcohol intake did not lower stroke risk, as some previous studies had found.

The study involved more than 1,900 middle-aged adults participating in an investigation of atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty plaques in arteries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure brain atrophy, infarcts (dead tissue) and changes in the inner matter of the brain, known as white matter lesions. Infarcts and white matter lesions increase stroke risk. Neuroradio-logists then identified the presence of infarction, the extent of white matter lesions, and ventricular and sulcal size—void areas of the brain containing only cerebrospinal fluid.

In general, the researchers found that as the level of alcohol intake increased, so did the ventricular and sulcal size, indicating a reduction in brain tissue, or brain atrophy. The large number of people participating in the study and consistency of the findings among black and white men and women contribute to the strength of the study, although the impact on a person’s life of the small reduction in brain volume associated with moderate drinking is unknown.

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