Study: Drinking even small amount of alcohol damages the brain

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A new study suggests that any amount of alcohol damages the brain.
• The research analyzed data from 25,378 people, including the alcohol they drank and their brain scans.
• The lead author said that even “drinking at lower levels may not be safe for the brain.”

A new study suggests that alcohol intake, even in small amounts, is not fine after all.

The notion that alcohol is only bad if taken in larger quantities is challenged by researchers at the University of Oxford, saying that any amount of alcohol can damage the brain and “no safe dose of alcohol for the brain was found.”

Not peer-reviewed yet, the research analyzed data from 25,378 people who participated in the UK’s Biobank study, how much alcohol they drank, and the scans of their brains.

According to the scholars, alcohol use was linked to the amount of gray matter in the brain, which affects decision-making. Specifically, the more people drank, the less gray matter they had.

“Moderate consumption is associated with more widespread adverse effects on the brain than previously recognized,” the researchers said, adding that “current ‘low risk’ drinking guidelines should be revisited to take account of brain effects.”

Lead study author Anya Topiwala, a senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford, told Yahoo Life that her study suggests “moderate” drinking recommendations should be revisited.

“‘Moderate’ drinking is highly prevalent, yet there were still controversies about whether or not it affected the brain, such as the amount necessary and who is at higher risk,” Topiwala pointed out. “Your brain volume shrinks with age, and it shrinks even more if you happen to develop a condition like dementia. Given that we have no cure for diseases like dementia, prevention is key,” she added.

The results of this study are “very interesting” for assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University Jamie Alan. She said, though, that the findings are a correlation, and not causation, which means that the reduction of gray matter volume in the brains may be affected by something else entirely.

“It’s not a surprise that ethanol can penetrate into all areas of the brain,” Alan said. “I think the surprising part was that effects were seen with almost any dose of alcohol.”

Alan added that the long-term effects of alcohol on the brain are still being evaluated, but she acknowledged that alcohol “can cause oxidative stress and cause inflammation,” two factors that are related to disease, illness and the aging process.

Based on the study, the impact of alcohol, whether beer, wine, or liquor, is the same.

Ultimately, the lead author was urging people to be aware of the repercussions of drinking alcohol. “People should be well informed of the potential risks in making their decisions about drinking,” Topiwala said. “This includes awareness that drinking at lower levels may not be safe for the brain.”

She added, “Avoiding binge-drinking is sensible.”

Source: AOL.com