Drinking large amounts of alcohol might not only leave you with a headache in the morning - it could also shrink your brain. The warning comes after reseachers examined the brains of more than 1800 people, ranging from former and non-drinkers to heavy drinkers.
Using Magnetic resonance imaging scans, the study found that people who had more than 14 drinks a week had an average 1.6% reduction in the ratio of brain volume to skull size campared with non-drinkers. Study author Carol Ann Paul, of Wellesley College in the US said the effect was slightly larger in women than men, and drinking large amounts of alcohol seemed to have the greatest impact on brain volume among women aged in their 70s.
While previous research had shown low to moderate alcohol consumption helped reduce cardiovascular disease, she said, the new findings revealed a very different result of brain volume - which can be seen as a measure of brain ageing.
"Greater alcohol consumption in negatively correlated with brain volume. There appears to be no beneficial effect of low to moderate drinking on brain volume." The findings, presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Boston, are the latest to link alcohol with brain size.
Several years ago, US researchers found moderate drinkers had smaller brains than those who abstained, while a separate study of 79 alcholics showed females were losing almost twice as much grey matter as men.
In 1990s. Professor Clive Harper of the University of Sydney, examined the brains of dead people and found that even moderate or social drinking could reduce brain size.
Dr. Richard Cash, said that alcohol could affect brain functions, such as memory and logical thinking and the new study appeared to back that up. "This is valuable evidence of the neurosciences to support what we've been seeing from our neuropsychological studies." He said "Brain volume is related to processing power."
The most recent Australian Bureau of statistics figures show about one in every eight adults consumed alcohol at a risky or high-risk level. An everage of five or more drinks a day for men, and three or more for women, is considered a long-term risk.
Reference: The Age - May 3, 2007
Using Magnetic resonance imaging scans, the study found that people who had more than 14 drinks a week had an average 1.6% reduction in the ratio of brain volume to skull size campared with non-drinkers. Study author Carol Ann Paul, of Wellesley College in the US said the effect was slightly larger in women than men, and drinking large amounts of alcohol seemed to have the greatest impact on brain volume among women aged in their 70s.
While previous research had shown low to moderate alcohol consumption helped reduce cardiovascular disease, she said, the new findings revealed a very different result of brain volume - which can be seen as a measure of brain ageing."Greater alcohol consumption in negatively correlated with brain volume. There appears to be no beneficial effect of low to moderate drinking on brain volume." The findings, presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Boston, are the latest to link alcohol with brain size.
Several years ago, US researchers found moderate drinkers had smaller brains than those who abstained, while a separate study of 79 alcholics showed females were losing almost twice as much grey matter as men.
In 1990s. Professor Clive Harper of the University of Sydney, examined the brains of dead people and found that even moderate or social drinking could reduce brain size.
Dr. Richard Cash, said that alcohol could affect brain functions, such as memory and logical thinking and the new study appeared to back that up. "This is valuable evidence of the neurosciences to support what we've been seeing from our neuropsychological studies." He said "Brain volume is related to processing power."
The most recent Australian Bureau of statistics figures show about one in every eight adults consumed alcohol at a risky or high-risk level. An everage of five or more drinks a day for men, and three or more for women, is considered a long-term risk.
Reference: The Age - May 3, 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment