Beer Nuts: Excessive Drinking May Lead to Dementia

Want to keep your sanity? Then put that drink down.

Researchers in England say that heavy drinking may cause one in four cases of dementia, the Guardian reported.

Doctors warned that binge drinking and higher levels of consumption may lead to an epidemic of alcohol-related brain damage in the coming decades. Serious imbibers would begin to experience serious memory problems in their 40s and more serious problems as they age.

Women are at an even greater risk, as they are "physiologically less well bale to cope with alcohol's effects," according to the report which was detailed inthe journal Alcohol and Alcoholism..

It has always been known that alcohol kills brain cells, but its effects may be more damaging than previously thought.

 "People think that dementia is something that happens to people over 65. But a lot of those under 65 have got cognitive problems and a large proportion of the problems in that group are related to alcohol," Dr Jane Marshall, one of the co-authors and consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital in south London, told the Guardian.

"Alcohol-related brain damage may account for 10-24% of all cases of all forms of dementia. We know that alcohol is associated with serious cognitive impairment. It reduces memory and general cognition," she added.

Health officials in England may give alcohol-related brain damage the same priority assigned to liver problems associated with drinking as a result of the study.

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