Alcohol and Dementia

It is well known that alcohol abuse or alcoholism has many negative effects on a person’s life, which can be physical and mental as well as social in nature. According to wiki the ill effects to physical health associated with alcohol consumption may include cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, epilepsy, polyneuropathy, heart disease, increased chance of cancer, nutritional deficiencies, sexual dysfunction, and death from many sources.

Among the detrimental effects of alcohol on brain function and thus psychological well being are conditions such as anxiety and depression disorders, with as many as 25% of alcoholics presenting with severe psychiatric disturbances. Chronic alcohol misuse can also cause panic disorder to develop or worsen. There can also be very serious social repercussions of alcoholism, a person’s interpersonal relationships, and professional abilities can also be impaired due to alcohol dependence. Marital conflict, domestic violence and divorce can all be the negative effects of alcoholism.

While it is well known that alcohol abuse kills brain cells now there is increased evidence that binge drinking increases the risk of dementia.

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Alcohol Related Memory Loss

I have experienced close at hand the negative effects that alcohol abuse can have on an individual, which I have talked about before. Alcohol related memory loss is not just about getting tanked in the bar tonight and not remembering a thing the next morning. Long term use of alcohol in larger quantities can have several undesirable repercussions such as damage to the liver etc. but also among them, memory loss. The effects that alcohol intoxication can have on cognitive function are not so well known. In short big drinkers are at increased risk of for memory loss and dementia.

As reported here, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. When the researchers compared data from 373 people with dementia (age 65 and older) and

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