Alcohol and Neurodegeneration

Studies of alcohol-induced brain damage have clearly indicated that alcohol is neurotoxic. Alcoholics are at increased risk for brain damage from a variety of causes, including poor nutrition, liver disease, and head trauma. Further, alcoholic dementia is the second leading cause of adult dementia in the United States, accounting for approximately 10% of the cases (Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause, accounting for 40 to 60% of cases). A variety of studies report that 50 to 75% of sober, detoxified, long-term alcohol-dependent individuals suffer from some degree of detectable cognitive impairment with approximately 10% suffering from serious dementia. Although more research is required to precisely delineate the effects of alcohol on various types of brain function, there appears to be a continuum of moderate deficits in the majority of long-term alcoholics, progressing to much more severe deficits of Wernicke's disease and Wernicke's encephalopathy with Korsakoff's amnestic syndrome A variety of lifestyle factors, including nutrition, are implicated in the more severe cases. However, all of these on the continuum appear to be related to alcohol consumption and to the amount of alcohol consumed. That is, the more severe cases are associated with more severe and chronic longterm alcoholism